The DT Express
by ULTRA SONIC
Summary: Sequel to Black Thunder Shadows. The holidays have arrived and Kat with help from Tommy and his students has begun to settle into her new life at Reefside. But with Christmas drawing near, will ashes of love burn once again?
1. Transitions, literal and otherwise

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Buena Vista Entertainment/The Walt Disney Company.

AN: I'm back guys! So how did everyone's New Years go? Me, I ended up working, but the upside to it was at least I got the chance to see how they do New Years' Eve at MGM, which while it was crazy, it was also cool. The downside…I didn't get home until 5 AM (brutal!) but it was worth it. Now before I start I just want to say thanks to everybody who enjoyed my fic, "Black Thunder Shadows". Now I admit, I had hoped people would read it, but I didn't expect it to get this kind of response. Now if anyone thought I was done with my Tommy/Kat run completely, think again. I'm not even close, so grab y'selves a cup of hot cocoa, and allow me to present to you my second fic in my series. I hope you'll enjoy it.

--

Chapter 1-Transitions-literal and otherwise

"Okay, now keep up that exact same technique, and continue a few times more."

Katherine Hillard and Victoria St. John watched closely as their students did the technique that they had taught them earlier and continued to follow it as flawlessly as they could. So far they were doing pretty good, except for Krista who was having a little trouble with the technique. Concerned, Kat walked over to where Krista was to try and help.

"Having trouble?" Kat asked.

Krista sighed. "A little." she replied.

Kat then motioned for Krista to stop. "Here, follow closely." and with that she then did the same dance technique that the others were doing but a little slower. Krista saw this and did her best to follow. After doing it twice Krista nailed it.

"All right, now it's not so difficult, is it?"

"No, not really." Krista replied.

"Now the key to it is to keep at it until it's almost all instinct." Victoria added as she joined in and motioned for the other girls to stop and catch their breath. "Which is actually something that all of you should take to heart: In this, you can't really afford to lapse, now if you find that you're not doing it right, that's okay; just keep at it, though, and eventually you'll get it."

As Victoria said this the girls listened intently and nodded.

Victoria then looked at her watch and saw that it was 4:00. "Okay, well, that about wraps up everything for today. Everyone be sure to practice today's techniques and we'll continue them next time, all right? Great, see you all Wednesday."

"Good work, Krista." Kat complimented.

"Thanks, Miss Hillard." Krista replied.

--

As Kat walked over to her locker she then opened her bag, pulled out her cell phone and turned it on as she took out some clothes to change into.

"That was pretty good what you did back there."

"What?" Kat asked.

"You showing Krista the move." Victoria said as she reached for her own bag to change.

"Well, I wanted her to know how to be able to do the move and be able to keep up."

Victoria nodded. "True." She said in agreement as she then looked at her watch and looked at the date. "Amazing," she said.

"What is?" Kat asked.

"Thanksgiving just ended, and now Christmas is just looming around the corner."

"I know what you mean." Kat agreed. "Soon it'll be 2005 before you can blink an eye."

"Don't remind me." Victoria said as she sipped some water. "In fact, you know what? Forget about the time, the holidays are here at least, and I'm going to enjoy them. Besides, what with our performance coming up, I'd say we're gonna have a blast."

"Performance?" Kat asked.

"Oh, Linda didn't tell you? Every year we do a ballet performance at the civic center downtown every Christmas."

"Really?"

"Really really." Victoria answered. "And actually we were planning on telling the girls about it tomorrow so we can prepare as soon as we can."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I mean, you're more than welcome to join in, we could use all the help we can get."

Kat thought for a moment. "Hmm. You know what, I think I will." she said.

"All right, cool."

Once Kat was done changing she then heard her cell phone ring. She then slung her gym bag across her shoulder and answered it.

"Hello?" she asked. "Mm-hm. Really? He's there now?" Katherine then reached into her bag and pulled out a small notepad and a pen. "Okay, I just need the address." She then began to write the address down on the paper but the ink was too dry for her to write anything. "Damn it!" she said as she shook the pen in an effort to get some ink out of it.

"Here, use mine." Victoria offered as she pulled out a pen from her bag and handed it to Kat.

"Thanks." Kat said as she took the pen. "Okay, can you repeat that? Okay…55 W Bullard Ave. Okay, tell him I'll be there in about 15-20 minutes, but don't let him leave until I get there, all right? Okay, bye." Kat then hung up and handed Victoria's pen back to her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Who was that?"

"The landlord's wife to the apartment I'll hopefully be moving into." Kat replied. "She just called me to tell me that her husband just got back from shopping and they were going to show me the loft they had available."

"So you haven't lived in Reefside long?"

"No, I arrived here just a few days ago." Kat replied. "I've actually lived the past nine years over in London studying dance and before that I lived over in Angel Grove."

"The home of the original Power Rangers?"

"Um, yeah. How did you know that that's where they originated?"

"I have an uncle who lives there. When I was a little girl we'd go over to his house and see them on TV a lot. Plus there was even that one time when the mayor had declared a "Power Ranger" day and my uncle took me and my brother to go see it and let me tell you, I could go to a million Bon Jovi concerts and none of them would equal the hysteria and exhilaration I felt when I saw the Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Red Rangers in person. Sadly the White Ranger didn't show up until later on, but…"

"Wait, you liked the White Ranger?" Kat asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Victoria asked. "Now I know it's a little weird for me to say this now but yeah, back in the day he was my favorite. There was just…something about him, I don't know, but it's like…if you were to see him, you could tell that he just somehow…shone above the others, like he was the heart of the team, even though he never seemed like he basked in it like some glory hound."

Kat knew all too well as to what Victoria was talking about. When she had first met Tommy she had at first seen him as someone who seemed almost…invincible. That nothing could really break him and even if things were to get serious, he could still keep a calm focus amid the chaos which Kat couldn't help but find intoxicating. However, when he got "the letter" Kat learned otherwise, but it didn't hinder her attraction to him at the time, in fact it only made her love him more.

"But anyway, getting back to before, your accent doesn't sound like someone from around here. Are you Australian?"

"Yeah, I am. From Surrey Hill, actually."

"So where have you been staying these past few days?"

"Days Inn. I was going to find an apartment as quickly as I could, but things kept coming up. Luckily though I ran into an old friend of mine a few days ago who lives here and with some help from him and one of his friends I was able to look up some apartments. I told them they didn't have to but they insisted."

"So you don't feel much like the new girl now that at least someone you _know_ lives here?"

Kat smiled as an image of Tommy floated in her head for an instant. "Not _too_ much." She said.

"The person told you that the apartment was on Bullard Ave., right?"

"More or less."

"Well, come on, I'll give you a ride. Plus I know the place pretty well." Victoria offered.

"Well, if you have someplace you need to be…"

"Believe me, I don't. Besides, the quickest way to get there _is_ by car. You wouldn't make it in 15-20 minutes on foot." Victoria said as she reached for her car keys.

"That's true. All right, let's go." Kat said as she followed Victoria out the building's doors to her car.


	2. Impending tests and holidays

Chapter 2-Impending tests and holidays

_Okay, on second thought, maybe I was being a little too ecstatic about this._ Kat thought as she looked at the apartment. It wasn't abnormally dirty, but it was extremely dusty and there were cobwebs sticking to some of the ceiling fans.

"This is actually one of the quietest apartment buildings around, surprisingly enough." said the landlord as he showed Kat around. "From what I know, they had actually placed a double layer of soundproof panels into the walls when they built it."

"Well, that's a relief." Kat said as she then remembered back to her old apartment in London where she would at times be studying or sleeping and she would hear music blaring from another person's apartment just across the hall.

"So where are you from, miss…?"

"Hillard, Katherine Hillard."

"Miss Hillard?"

"Surrey Hill, Australia."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I could tell that accent was familiar."

Kat then walked over to the kitchen and saw that it was in pretty much the same dusty/cobweb condition that the living room was in. Curious she then walked to the sink and turned it on. Instead of regular water out came what looked like liquefied lead, or at least that's what she thought it looked like.

Once she shut it off she then looked at the landlord.

"Well, at least it's minerals." he said.

"Just out of curiosity when did the last tenant live here?" Kat asked.

"About three years." replied the landlord.

_Well, I guess that explains it._ Kat thought. _Still, it looks pretty good for an apartment that hasn't been vacated in a while._

"Oh yeah, here's the cool part about this pad." said the landlord as he then walked over and opened the terrace doors to show Kat the balcony.

"Out of all the rooms in this building, _this_ is the one that has the best view. You can practically see almost all of downtown from here, the high school…all of a sudden you almost feel like Aladdin."

Kat's eyes just stayed open as she looked out the balcony and took in the sight. The landlord was right on, the view was pretty something.

Once she came back inside and closed the sliding door Kat then went into the one bedroom and checked it out.

"Another good thing about these pads is that they have oversized closets so you don't have to worry too much about wondering where to put stuff." the landlord said.

"That's true." Kat said as she then went from the bedroom to the bathroom and checked it out.

"So what do you think?" asked the landlord once Kat was done checking out the rooms.

"I'd say it's not that bad of an apartment." Kat replied. "Although I'm kind of afraid to ask, but…how much is it?"

"About $645."

_$645, huh?_ Kat then took a look at the cobwebs decorating the ceiling fans and then at the layers of dust and hairballs covering the floor. "Would it be all right if I made a few repairs?"

"Not at all."

Kat then gave the apartment another once over, a small smile breaking across the corners of her mouth. "All right, I'll take it. How soon can I move in?"

"As soon as the check clears." replied the man. "I'll get some extra keys made too."

Kat then offered her hand, and the landlord shook it earnestly.

--

"Well Hayley, at least now you don't have to worry about covering the window with a garbage bag." Ethan said as he saw the new window glass in place of the broken one that Conner had been sent flying through.

"Well, if it had to stay like that any longer I probably would have taken a piece of paper and wrote, 'The Red Ranger and a monster named Felectro were here.'" Hayley said as she walked over to a table to take some orders.

Ethan laughed as he made his way over to the table where Conner, Dr. Oliver, and Kira were sitting.

Trent then arrived carrying a tray with drinks. "Here you go guys."

"Oh, thanks Trent." Kira said.

"No problem."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad that little fiasco with Felectro is over." Conner remarked as he reached for his smoothie.

"Amen to that." Tommy said as he took a sip of his coffee. "Now all that's left now is midterms."

"Oh, come on doc, midterms?" Conner protested. "Thanksgiving just ended, and we just whupped yet another monster concoction of Mesogog's, can't we at least relax just a little?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're going chicken just because of a test?" Ethan asked jokingly as he drank his Sierra Mist.

"No, but-"

"Conner, ask yourself this question." Tommy advised. "What sounds more challenging: Facing off against two Felectros or taking a midterm?"

Conner just sighed and took another chug of his smoothie. He already knew the answer to that question without even having to say it.

"Conner, take it easy, man." Trent said as he took a seat by Kira. "It's only a smoothie."

"I know, but seeing as how we all have midterms coming up, I may as well milk my free time as much as I can, even if it's just drinking a smoothie." Conner replied.

"Conner, we have two weeks. Don't worry about it too much." Ethan said.

"I know, I know."

"Oh yeah, Trent, aren't you still on duty?" Kira asked.

"I've got two minutes 'till the end of my shift." Trent replied as he smiled lightly. "Or so my watch says."

Tommy smiled along with the rest of his students as he drank the last of his coffee.

"Be right back, guys."

He then got up and went over to one of the garbage cans to throw away his coffee cup. As he turned around he didn't notice the person approaching and almost ran into her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Tommy apologized.

"It's all right." Kat said as she turned and recognized Tommy right away.

"Oh, hi Kat."

"Hi, Tommy." Katherine said, her spirits already lifting just by looking at him.

"So, um-did class already let out for the day?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, for today, anyway." Kat replied.

"Oh, that's great." Tommy said, feeling a little tongue-tied and not really sure what to say. "Oh yeah, do you want to…sit over…" he stammered a little bit. "Would you like to sit with me-I mean, us?"

Kat couldn't help but laugh inwardly at Tommy's slight awkwardness. "Sure." She said as she followed him to the table where the rest of his students were.

"Hi guys." Kat said as she approached the table.

"Oh, hi Katherine." Kira said as the boys smiled and said "Hi" themselves.

Tommy then went to a nearby table, grabbed an unused chair and brought it over to their table so Kat could sit.

"So what's up?" Kat asked.

"Oh, nothing much, just musing over our victory that we had a few days back and patiently awaiting the coming of the nightmare that is midterms." Conner said.

"Oh, come on. Midterms aren't as bad as they look." Kat said.

"I know, but that still doesn't make them any less of a pain in the neck though." Conner mused.

"So Kat, is there anything I can get you?" Hayley asked as she walked up to the table.

"Oh, just some water."

"Coming right up." Hayley said as she went back to the counter.

"So how have things been for you so far?" Kira asked.

"Oh, not too bad, considering it's only my second day on the job." Kat replied. "Y' know, I still can't believe we were able to get all the decorations down." She mused as she took a look around the café. On Sunday Tommy called her about how he and his students were going to go help Hayley take out the Thanksgiving decorations and if she would like to come. Since there was no class for Kat to teach, she said yes. Plus it gave her a reason to be with Tommy for most of that day anyway.

"Yeah, now all we have to do is just put the Christmas stuff up and we'll be ready to rock jingle-bell style." Ethan remarked.

Hayley then came back with a large cup of water with a lemon slice attached to the side. "Here you go."

"Thanks Hayley." Kat said. "Oh, by the way, thanks for looking up those apartments, you really didn't have to."

"Kat, believe me, it's no problem." Hayley said.

"So, were you able to find one?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I did." Kat replied as she took a sip. "It's the apartment complex down on Bullard Ave.."

"Oh, that's not too bad." Hayley said.

"No it's not." Kat agreed. "Although it could definitely use some work."

"So when are you going to move in?" Ethan asked.

"Well, the landlord said I could as soon as the check cleared. Luckily though I already had the money so all I have to do now is get all my stuff from my hotel suite and pay the bill."

"Would you like some help sprucing it up?" offered Tommy.

"Tommy, you don't have to-" Kat began.

"Better yet, how about if _all_ of us help?" Ethan asked.

"Now Ethan, you and the others don't-"

"Dr. O," Ethan then looked around so that no one else aside from himself, Kira, Trent, Conner, Hayley, Kat and Tommy were listening. "Now I know I've said this before, but just because we're your students doesn't mean we can't help. Plus, just because Kat isn't a Power Ranger anymore doesn't mean she isn't one of us. Hell, she became one of us the minute she got here."

Tommy was about to protest some more, but then he remembered Ethan saying almost the same thing a few days ago when he and the others volunteered to help him clean out some paraphernalia, even though he told them that they didn't have to.

"Besides, one person can't clean up one apartment by herself." Ethan said. "Well, she can, but it would take forever."

"Well, I really appreciate you guys offering to help, and in a lot of ways I think I'm going to need all the help I can get with this."

"Ah-ha! You see? All the more reason." Ethan said.

"Well, we're not going to do it _now_ are we?" Conner asked.

"No, not right now." Kat said. "I still have to get some paint, tools, and some other things, so…"

"Well, since we're all going to do this, how about if we check out Kat's apartment tomorrow, then as the week goes by we'll get the things we need, and then over the weekend we'll fix up the apartment?" Tommy suggested.

"Hey, sounds like a plan to me." Kira said.

Trent smiled and nodded. "I'm in."

Conner smiled. "Dude, you don't need to ask."

"Conner," Tommy said sternly.

"Yeah, I know." Conner said. "'Don't call me dude.'"

"Hayley?" Ethan asked.

"I'm in." Hayley said.

"All right. Well, that settles it then." Tommy said as he smiled a gentle smile at Kat, to which she couldn't help but smile back to.

"Thanks, you guys." Kat said. _Thanks, Tommy._


	3. Pay ups, drop offs, and brotherly chats

Chapter 3-Pay ups, drop offs, and brotherly chats

_There's always a chance  
__A tiny spark remains  
__And sparks turn into flames  
__And love can burn once again_

"I'll be around"

Performed by Hall & Oates

(Originally performed by the Spinners)

From Our kind of soul

--

"So, is that it?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Kat said as she zipped up her backpack and hitched it on her shoulders.

"All right, then let's head downstairs." Tommy said as he picked up Kat's beach bag with one hand, and her suitcase with the other.

"Tommy, you don't have to carry those." Kat said when she saw him holding her bags.

"And let you carry all these bags by yourself? No way." Tommy replied.

Kat couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, thanks." she said as she picked up the keys to her room and headed out the door with Tommy following close behind. Shortly after spending some time at Hayley's cyberspace Kat decided to head back to DAYS INN so she could gather her things and check out of the hotel. Tommy went with her so he could lend a hand and give her a ride to her suite and then the apartment.

"So how was your stay here?" asked the receptionist.

"Well, in a word…interesting." Kat said as she and Tommy exchanged smiles.

"Well, that's good to know. Okay, let's take a look here…" mumbled the receptionist as she typed in something on her computer. Once she was done the total price appeared on the screen.

"All right, the total bill is $405.67."

Kat then pulled out her credit card which the receptionist took, read her signature, and swiped it through the machine. As the transaction was being processed the receptionist then noticed Tommy carrying Kat's bags (minus her backpack).

"Oh, I didn't know that you had company while you were staying-"

"Oh, I didn't." Kat said.

"I actually live here in Reefside." Tommy answered. "She's an old friend of mine and we ran into each other just a few days ago. I figured I'd come by and help her with her things since she was checking out today."

"I was just staying here until I found an apartment which, thanks to Tommy and his few 'acquaintances', I have."

"Well, well, looks like it _is_ a small world after all, isn't it?" asked the receptionist rhetorically as she handed Kat back her card and hit the button to print out the receipt and the signature paper.

"Guess so." Kat said as she looked back at Tommy.

"Okay, here's your receipt, and I need you to sign this here."

Once Kat signed the paper the receptionist took it and wished Kat the best of luck here in Reefside. Kat bade her thanks and then she and Tommy headed out to the parking lot where Tommy's jeep was.

"So how much of a stink hole is the apartment?" Tommy asked.

"Actually, it's not _that_ bad." Kat replied. "Just needs a whole lot of dusting, painting, and it's really the sinks that have it bad. Other than that, not much else."

"Yep, sounds like a candidate for a makeover to me."

"Oh what, when you had your house built they painted it wrong?" Kat asked as Tommy gently put the bags that he was carrying in the back seat of his jeep.

"Oh, yes." Tommy replied as he walked over to Kat's side of the jeep and unlocked the door for her to get in.

"I mean, they practically painted the interior walls apricot instead of light blue, and when I asked them as to what the hell happened they looked into it and found out that oops! Somebody had flubbed the order and had accidentally put in an order for apricot (which was a color that was going to be for somebody else's house) instead of my order. Luckily though they went back and redid the whole thing, and at no extra charge too, (thank god)." Tommy said as he walked back over to his side, unlocked his door and got in.

"Oh yeah, what's the street address again?"

"55 W Bullard Ave.."

"Right," Tommy said as he turned on the ignition to the jeep.

--

The drive there was pretty placid, with occasional talks about little things and Tommy's bad memory, plus listening to some music that actually had a melody and a rhythm. Luckily though the apartment complex wasn't too far away so it didn't take very long.

"So is there a bed in the bedroom or is the whole thing barren?" Tommy asked once they turned on Bullard Ave..

"Stripped bare." Kat replied. "Luckily though I have a sleeping bag which I can use, so…"

"But with all that dust on the floor-?"

"Don't worry, I asked the landlord if he had a broom that I could use to sweep up the floor. Fortunately he did and right after I paid him the money I swept it as best I could. Or at least that way I could put something on it and not kick up a mini-dust storm."

"Well, that's a relief." Tommy said as he found a parking space and pulled into it.

Kat's apartment was on the second floor so Kat and Tommy had to go up a flight of stairs. Now Kat didn't have to worry too much, since she was carrying only her backpack, but Tommy had a little trouble since he was carrying a bulging suitcase and a beach bag.

"Tommy, are you all right?" Kat asked as they made their way up.

"Yeah, don't worry. I got it."

"You're sure?"

"Trust me, I do."

A minute and a half later they arrived at the door to Kat's apartment and Kat quickly fished out her key so she could open it. Once she did she then reached for the light switch and turned it on.

"Oh, you can put those right there." Kat said gesturing to the bags Tommy was holding and pointing to his left side.

"Whoa," Tommy said as he looked around the living room and part of the kitchen.

"So what do you think?" Kat asked.

"Y' know, for an apartment that's dusty and cobwebby, it doesn't look too bad. In fact it actually looks pretty good."

"Oh, believe me; it'll look good once it's all fixed up." Kat said as she put her backpack on a small dining table that while it had been there for three years, it was still in pretty good condition, although it could definitely use some oil.

"That's for sure." Tommy said in agreement. "So, are you going to sleep in the bedroom or…?"

"The room's still too dusty for me to sleep there, unfortunately." Kat replied as she came up to where Tommy was. "But I'll see if I can try and fix that tomorrow."

Tommy gave a small smile as he nodded in agreement. Once again he found himself staring right into Kat's sapphire eyes and Kat was doing the same likewise.

For the next few seconds they pretty much stood there staring at each other, not really knowing what to say or do. As their eyes stayed locked with the other's Tommy found himself taking a step toward her-or was it Kat that took the step? He wasn't really sure, but the one thing he did know was that he found himself moving closer to Kat ever so slowly.

The two were almost within arms' length when all of a sudden their stomachs grumbled. Tommy then blushed and chuckled a bit only to find that Kat was pretty much doing the same thing.

"So…hungry?" Tommy asked sheepishly.

Kat nodded.

Tommy then reached into his cell phone and turned it on. "Oh yeah, uh-is there anything that you're in the mood for or…?"

Katherine shrugged. "Not really. Just so long as it's not Burger King or Wendy's."

Tommy smiled. "All right." He said as he dialed the number for Pizza Hut. "Hello? Pizza Hut? Hi, this is Tommy and I'd like to place an order…"

--

17 minutes later, the pizza arrived and Tommy and Kat sat down by the kitchen table (which fortunately had two chairs) to eat. Before they did Kat went to her suitcase and pulled out a small radio so they could listen to some music while they ate.

"So just out of curiosity, do you ever cook dinner at your house?" Kat asked jokingly.

"Well, if I can whip up something without burning it beyond recognition, then yeah." Tommy replied as he took a bite of his slice. "I mean, the closest thing to dinner that I can make is roast-beef sandwiches and my own version of Subway's Cold Cut Combo. Everything else is usually either Pizza Hut or Chinese."

"Well, then I'd say it's probably a good thing that I _did_ move here." Kat said teasingly.

"So I take it you brushed up on your cooking some more while in London?" Tommy asked.

"Mm-hm." Kat said. "So once we get this place fixed up stick around. I'll show you a cooking tip or two."

As far as Tommy was concerned he had no problem with sticking around, and it didn't even have to be with learning how to cook better. Just being in the same room with Kat and talking with her would be more than enough.

After they were done eating Tommy then took the pizza box and put it on the counter by the sink.

"I'll take it to the garbage can outside when I leave." Tommy said as he took his seat across from Kat.

"Thanks, Tommy." Kat said. "So…how has _your_ dancing been over these years?" She asked, remembering when he had dressed up like John Travolta's character from Saturday Night Fever for the "dress as your favorite decade" dance, needless to say, Tommy had the moves nailed easily, even though Rocky had also (albeit unknowingly) dressed like him too.

"Well…" Tommy began. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I haven't really done any dancing of the sort since…I don't know when."

"Well, how about if you show me what you got," Kat suggested.

"Right now?"

"Why not? Well, unless you have work to grade back at your house…"

"Oh, no, no. I don't." Tommy said.

As if it was almost on cue, a ballad began to play off the small speaker of Kat's radio. Kat and Tommy then got up and went to the space in the middle of the apartments' kitchen. Tommy put his left hand around Kat's waist and held her left hand with his right while Kat did the same with her opposite arms. Once they were in place they began to sway back and forth as the lyrics began to echo in their minds…and unconsciously…their hearts.

_I had some problems  
__And no one could seem to solve them  
__But you found the answer  
__You told me to take this chance  
__And learn the ways of love, my baby  
__And all that it has to offer  
__In time you will see that love won't let you down_

_You said that you loved me  
__Said hurt only came to pass me  
__It sounded so convincing  
__That I gave it half a chance  
__And learned the ways of love, my baby  
__There is so much love inside me  
__And all that I have I give my all to you  
__All, all my loving  
__And all this love is waiting for you  
__My baby, my darling  
__And all, all my love is waiting for you_

_I had some problems  
__And no one could seem to solve them  
__But you found the answer  
__So I gave it half a chance  
__And learned the ways of love, my baby  
__And all that it has to offer  
__And all that I have I give my all to you  
__All, all my loving  
__And all this love is waiting for you  
__My baby, my sugar  
__And all, all my love is waiting for you_

Tommy kept a solemn face as he danced along with Katherine, though he couldn't help but look at her face every few moments and give her a warm smile. In fact, as he danced with her he couldn't help but be…comfortable? Elated? Happy?

Well, whatever it was he was feeling right now, it was a feeling that he hadn't really felt since he saw her leave on that plane to London all those years ago, which had pretty much been the most heart-wrenching moment in his life, almost. Not even when he had said bye to Kimberly when she went to Florida or when he got "The letter" from her had he felt so down. Later when he talked to Jason about it he couldn't help but wonder if maybe…just maybe…he had let "The one" go.

_In a lot of ways, I didn't think in a million years I'd ever see her again. Man…does fate have a way of throwing you a curveball._ He thought as he unconsciously began to lose himself bit by bit.

_All this love is waiting for you  
__All this love is waiting for you  
__And baby all, baby all this love is waiting for you  
__My sugar, my baby  
__And all this love is waiting for you_

_Oh, I love how you make me feel this way  
__My love is getting stronger everyday (my baby)  
__And after all I went and put myself through  
__I found that all I really needed was you (my darling)_

_As the sun has it's place up in the sky  
__I love you so dearly  
__And all the same, there's no need to wonder why  
__I need you, please hear me_

_Say you really love me, baby  
__Say you really love me, darling  
__For I really love you, baby  
__For I really love you darling  
__Say you really love me, baby  
__Say you really love me, darling  
_'_Cause I really love you, baby  
__For I really love you darling  
__Say you really love me, baby  
__Say you really love me, darling  
_'_Cause I really love you, baby  
__Sure enough I love you darling  
__Say, say you love me…_

"Well, I have to say, you did pretty good." Kat remarked as the song ended.

"Thanks." Tommy said.

Once again the two found themselves staring right into each other's eyes. Tommy then quickly snuck a peak at his watch before he found himself drawn back in again. Unfortunately (or fortunately) resistance was futile as he then looked from his watch back to Kat's angelic face.

"I…" he couldn't get the words out. It was almost like his jaw had been numbed at that moment. "It's getting late. I should go."

Even though he said it, and even though he knew he had to, Tommy didn't want to, and Kat could tell.

"Do you have to?" she asked, not knowing that she had said it out loud.

"Afraid so." Tommy said reluctantly.

Kat looked down and nodded a bit before looking back up at Tommy. "All right." she said as she saw him walk over to the counter to pick up the empty pizza box. Once he walked back to where she was Kat then walked with him to the door.

"Oh yeah, what time does your class end tomorrow?"

"4:00, more or less." Kat replied.

"All right. Well, if you want I can pick you up at around that time and then we can come here, see what needs to be done and then go get the supplies we need."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Kat said. "But what about Conner, Ethan…"

"If I know them, they'll head to the cyber café (like I do) right after school lets out and wait for me to show up."

"Oh, okay." Kat said. "Well…have a good night, Tommy. And thanks for the help."

"Hey, anytime." Tommy said as he reached over and gave Kat a hug with his free arm which almost made Kat melt to the ground.

"Well…good night, Kat." Tommy said as he stepped out the door.

"Good night, Tommy." Kat said as she closed the door to her apartment. Even after she heard Tommy's footsteps fade she smiled and stared wistfully at the spot by the doorway where Tommy had been standing just seconds before.

--

The drive back to his house felt long. Even though Tommy's house wasn't far, and while it wasn't really that long of a drive, to Tommy it felt like he had driven from Reefside to New York and back. While he mused on that a little bit, what Tommy couldn't seem to get out of his mind was the fact that every time he was within arm's length of Kat he wanted nothing more than to just put his arms around her and give her the most mind-blowing kiss she ever had.

_What the hell is wrong with me? I mean, she just moved to Reefside a few days ago, not even knowing that I lived here and then right after I meet her again after nine years I just want to be her boyfriend all of a sudden?_

And with that came a few more burning questions.

_I mean, does she have a boyfriend already?…It's been almost ten years; it'd be really weird if she didn't at least date once during that time…but what if she's still with him or…what if she was just being friendly back at the apartment or…oh, what am I doing? Tommy, you _really_ need to get a hold of yourself, man. 'Cause otherwise your brain might just explode._ He then chuckled to himself. _As if it wasn't already on overload…_

As soon as he pulled up near the porch to his house Tommy took the cover to his jeep and pulled it over it so the morning dew wouldn't catch on the interior of the jeep.

Once he got in and locked the door behind him he then hung up his keys and stepped over to his bedroom, took off his shoes, and checked his answering machine for messages while he collapsed on the bed exhausted.

"One message," said the machine. "Message 1."

"Bro! What's up? It's Jason. Listen man, I'm sorry that I didn't get a hold of you over the weekend but Emily and I had Thanksgiving over at her folk's house, so…anyway I just wanted to call to see how you were doing but from what I can tell right now you're probably busy with 'work', so when you get the chance call me, all right, bro? Okay, see ya, man."

"End of messages." deadpanned the machine.

Tommy smiled. _Just the person I need to talk to_. He thought to himself as he got up and reached for his portable home phone and dialed the number.

--

RING!

28 year-old Emily Scott was busy putting up a wreath card-holder on the wall with Jason helping her when they both heard the phone ring.

"Go ahead, answer it. I got it from here." Jason said.

"You're sure?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Jason replied.

Emily then walked up to the counter where their portable home phone was and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Emily."

"Oh, hi Tommy." Emily said.

"How's it going?"

"Not too bad, just getting a few decorations out for the holidays, not much else."

"Well that's good to hear." Tommy said. "Listen, is Jason there? I was wondering if I could talk to him."

"Yeah, he's here." Emily replied as she walked over to Jason who had just finished hanging the card-holder on the wall. "It's Tommy," she said as she handed him the phone.

"Thanks Emily." Jason said as he smiled at her and took the phone. "Hello?"

"Jase! What's up, man?"

"Nothin' much, bro. Just helping Emily decorate. What's up with you?"

Tommy sighed. "A couple of things, and it's not just the ceiling." He answered.

"What's wrong, your students bugging you about midterms already?" Jason asked as he opened the refrigerator and reached for a half-pint bottle of water.

"Well, aside from Conner stressing himself out over it, not really." Tommy replied.

"Oh yeah, he's the red rookie, right?" Jason asked. When Tommy had first found the Dino gems he had told his best friend about them and what the possibilities could be if they were used just the right way. Jason wasn't surprised that there were other Power sources out there but he was a little surprised when he heard that the three gems (namely the red one) had energies that were quite similar to that of his old Power coin but he gave his friend his support and told him to keep him posted. Later when he and Tommy were talking one night Tommy told him about Conner, Ethan, and Kira and how they had unknowingly found the gems and became the new Power Rangers. That didn't surprise Jason very much; for he knew that it would have been a matter of time before the gems found their rightful owners.

"Yeah, he is." Tommy replied.

"Man, the days, bro." Jason mused. "Those were the days."

"You can say that again."

"Well anyway, going back to before, what's on your mind?"

"Well, where do I start? Umm-well, let's just say that something cool happened a few days ago."

"What?" Jason asked.

Tommy stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Bro, come on. Tell me."

"All right, I will, I just figured I'd keep you in suspense."

"Yeah, well, you're doin' a good job of it. Now come on, spill it."

Tommy sighed. "I…ran into Katherine last week."

Jason's eyes widened in surprise. "Get out of here, man."

"No, seriously, I kid you not." Tommy said.

"Well, what do you know?" Jason asked rhetorically. "And when exactly did all of this go down?"

"Well, unofficially it was last Wednesday. Officially it was Thanksgiving."

"Unofficially?" Jason asked.

"Well, when I _first_ saw her I was in my Ranger guise." Tommy replied.

"Whoa, what happened?"

"Somehow she got into a scuffle with Elsa and Elsa was about to gut her."

"So basically you made like the White-no, excuse me-Black Knight in shining armor and came to her rescue?"

Tommy sighed again. "Yeah." He said as he remembered stopping Elsa's blow just as she was about to slice Katherine in half.

"And Kat didn't recognize you, did she?"

"No, not at the moment."

"But as soon as you locked eyes with her part of you wanted to though, right?"

Tommy sighed. "Yeah." he admitted, already picturing in his mind his best friend grinning at him with his near-constant smile.

"So when you met her 'officially' the next day what happened?" Jason asked.

"Well, everyone was having a Thanksgiving party over at Hayley's and I remembered that I had forgotten to bring fruitcake for the party and I had told Hayley that I would."

"Fruitcake?" Jason asked disgustedly. "Okay, just out of curiosity who the hell eats that anyway?"

"Who knows? Well, anyway I figured I'd head to Wal-Mart (since they were still open and hopefully they had fruitcake that didn't look like it was already digested all the way through) when just as I was pulling out of the parking lot…I saw her."

_Looks like Cupid's arrow has hit you again, Tommy._ Jason thought. _And this time with the heavy-duty version._

"So just between us, how did it feel to see her again?" Jason asked slyly.

Tommy sighed for what he could have sworn was the sixth time. "You want the truth?" he asked rhetorically as he then though back to when he had saved Kat from Elsa, and then when he saw her as he was pulling out of the parking lot. Almost instantly a small smile began to creep across his face. "It felt…great. I mean I've got other words for it, but I don't know if they'd really sum up how I felt at that moment when I saw her."

_Yep, he's got it bad._ "So what was she doing at Reefside?"

"Well, from what she's told me she moved from London to teach dance over at the dance school here, so…"

"Wow, lucky you." Jason said.

"Jase," Tommy said in a weak protest.

"Oh, come on, man! You mean to tell me that you don't want nothing more than to jump up and down off the walls if for no other reason than for the fact that Katherine, the woman that you have tried to forget about for the past nine years but unconsciously she keeps popping up in your head (and probably your dreams, I'm sure), is there, in the same city that you live in?"

Tommy didn't answer, but inwardly he knew his best friend was right, because that's how he really felt.

"You know something, Jason? Sometimes you know me just a _little_ too well." Tommy said.

"Well, if during these past nine years that we've hung out (when you're not out of state on a dig anyway) that I haven't seen you stare off into empty space at times or look at that picture of yourself and Kat in your wallet…I mean, if that doesn't tell me anything, then…"

"Look, it's just that she just moved here last week, Jason." Tommy explained. "She didn't even know I lived here."

"Or that you had created your own Ranger team out of four students and that you were back in the Ranger duds again, and this time in black?" Jason supplied. "Now I trust that she knows _that_ by now, right?"

"Yeah, she does." Tommy replied. "But the thing is, she just moved here for crying out loud. What, I want to be the guy on the rebound all of a sudden?"

"Bro, rebounds can get played into slam dunks, y' know."

"I know that, but…"

"Okay, would it be alright with you guys if I cut in now?" Said a voice with a sigh.

"Emily??" Jason and Tommy asked at once.

Jason then turned around and saw his wife holding up the plugged-in kitchen phone with a sly smile on her face.

"No, just another woman who happens to look like her." Emily said sarcastically as she sat down by the table.

"Okay, how long were you listening in?" Jason asked his wife.

"Oh…long enough." Emily replied nonchalantly. "Let's see…starting from Tommy saying that something cool happened to him a few days ago to you saying something about rebounds getting replayed into slam dunks, or something around those lines." She then raised one eyebrow at Jason.

"Well, he said it first." Jason said jokingly.

"I meant it as a metaphor." Tommy supplied.

"Relax, Tommy. I know you did." Jason said.

"Now Tommy, going back to what you and Jason were talking about…what's going on with you not wanting to take another chance, and I don't think I need to spell it out for you as to what I mean."

Tommy felt trapped. "I just…I just don't want to pressure her. I mean, like I said before, she just moved here from London last week."

"Tommy, here's a question for you: Do you still care for Katherine?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Tommy replied.

"And would you like to see if maybe...just maybe…there could still be…something?"

Tommy stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, then he sighed defeatedly. "Yeah, I…I guess I really would."

"You guess?" Jason and Emily asked at once.

"All right, all right, you got me." Tommy said. "Honestly…yeah, I do."

"Then just play it by ear, and see what happens, but _don't_ be afraid to go for it just because you haven't seen her in a decade." Emily advised.

Once again Tommy stayed quiet for a few moments.

"Tommy, you still there?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I am." Tommy replied as he suppressed a yawn. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"What did you do?" Jason asked.

"Oh, just helped Kat move out of her hotel suite and helped her move into her new apartment."

"All right." Jason remarked with a grin.

"But we still have to fix the place up, so she and I (and my four students) are gonna go to Home Depot and try and get some tools and paint and stuff."

"Need any help?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure. But if anything I'll let you know."

"All right. Well, in that case I'll let you go get some rest for tomorrow. Tell me how it goes, all right?"

"Will do. Take it easy, Jase, bye Emily." Tommy said.

"Bye Tommy." Emily said. "And remember what I said, all right?"

"Don't worry, I will."

"Bye bro." Jason said as he turned his phone off and put it on the counter.

"So Tommy's got an extra complication besides his teaching/Ranger mentoring duties?" Emily asked semi-rhetorically. Shortly after she and Jason started dating (which was right after Jason lost the Gold Ranger powers) Jason decided to confide in her about the Power Ranger legacy and that he had been the original Red Ranger and shortly after he came back from the peace conferences he became the Gold Zeo Ranger to fill in for a Triforian named Trey who was unable to use them due to a fight he had with the Varox. At first Emily didn't believe him but when Jason showed her his old Power Morpher along with a group picture of him, Zack, Trini, Kim, Tommy, and Billy in their Ranger costumes minus the helmets Emily's jaw dropped open in shock, but she still listened intently when Jason told her about his body suffering from some kind of power failure and through a huge undertaking he, Tommy, and the other Rangers were able to transfer the powers back to Trey successfully. Emily then asked Jason if him collapsing in the juice bar that day was related to that Power failure. Jason said yes. After Jason had finished Emily was surprised, but the revelation unconsciously gave her a sense of pride and it didn't even hinder her feelings for him at all, rather it made them stronger. And it wasn't really even a matter of whether he had the power or not. In fact she later would tell Jason that regardless of whether he was a Ranger still or not, he would always be her hero in her eyes.

Jason shrugged. "I guess." he replied.

Emily sighed and walked over to her husband and put her arms around his neck. "I guess a Ranger's work is never really done, is it?"

Jason sighed. "No…not by a long shot."

--

AN: The comment Jason said about fruitcake was actually something I saw while watching I love the Holidays on VH-1. Bottom line, as "Weird Al" put it best, if someone gives you fruitcake, you have the right to kick them repeatedly. Well, anyway, I'm going to be busy for a while with my Intro to Visual Basic class so don't be surprised if there's not an update for a while. But if things don't get crazy I'll have a little more time to speed this up. Ether way, I'll still be working on it. Oh yeah, most importantly, the song "All this love" was performed by DeBarge. And also, check out the forums on the archive, namely Arwennicole's. See ya next chap, folks.


	4. Extreme Makeover: Power Ranger style

AN: Now with the exception of Purple Stobe and Millicent, I made some edits to Ch.1, 2, and 3 a few days after I uploaded Ch. 3, so for those of you (except for the ones I mentioned) who haven't already re-read those chapters, you can go back and re-read them if you want to.

Oh, and Millicent, that's a pretty good question in your review, and I can give you a little bit of an answer: To put delicately, Tommy may be 27 years old, but he still has a tendency to be hesitant with matters of the heart. Especially since the poor guy hasn't dated in practically nine years going on ten. Now I've had even worse luck than Tommy has had in terms of finding Miss Right (at least Tommy had a girlfriend), so I know only too well as to how insecure he is when it comes to women and dating.

--

Chapter 4-Extreme makeover-Power Ranger style

"…_and now let's get you back to the music here on our Saturday morning…"_

Katherine took the dishes and the pan that she used for breakfast and placed them in the sink as she listened to some music from her radio. Once she was done putting all of them in, she then turned on the faucet which fortunately didn't spurt lead-water this time.

_Thank God Hayley was able to fix it._ Kat thought as she washed the dishes as quickly as she could so she could change and wait for Tommy and the others to show up. Four days ago Tommy had picked up his students after school so they could go to Kat's apartment, take a look at it and see what they needed. Despite the fact that the apartment didn't look like a dump, there was still a lot of work to be done…

--

"So how does it look?"

"Well, for an oven that hasn't been used in three straight years it looks pretty good." Trent said to Kat as he looked inside the oven.

"Personally I'd say this place definitely has some possibilities." Conner said as he took a look around the living room and went back to the kitchen where the others were.

"Yeah, I know. I mean, compared to my last apartment, this one's not so much of a disaster." Kat agreed. "Although the only thing that's bad is the water line in the sinks."

Kat then turned, went to the sink and turned on the faucet, showing Tommy, Kira, Trent, Conner, Ethan, and Hayley the murky water.

"Hey, it's minerals. Good for the liver, right?" Conner asked jokingly which caused everyone to look at him blankly.

"Well anyway, aside from Tommy (who already had a look yesterday) you guys had a look at the apartment so what do you think?" Kat asked Tommy's students and Hayley.

"Well, I'm no expert on apartments, but in general…I'd say we're gonna need a very big vacuum." Conner said.

"And aside from the sinks, the walls could definitely use a paint job." Hayley said.

"Kira? Trent? Ethan? What do you guys think?" Tommy asked.

"Yo, Conner and Hayley speak, as far I'm concerned." Ethan said.

"I'm with them," Trent said.

"Me too," Kira said.

"Kat?" Tommy asked.

"Well, I know as much about apartments as you guys do, so…as far as I'm concerned, I'm with you guys too."

Tommy then clapped his hands together. "All right, let's go get the stuff."

Two minutes later the group headed for Home-Depot. Tommy, Kat, and Hayley rode in Tommy's jeep while Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent rode in Conner's Mustang. Once they got there they looked for parking spaces that were close to each other, parked, and headed into the store to get the supplies they needed. Since it was Tuesday they couldn't really start fixing the apartment once they got back but Kat knew once they had the supplies they would be ready for the weekend.

After they got the supplies (of which was mostly paint, rollers and several brushes since Hayley had tools aplenty back at her apartment.) the gang decided to leave them at Kat's apartment so once they got there Saturday all they would have to do is open them and they could start immediately. Just before they left Hayley made some adjustments to Kat's kitchen and bathroom sinks so Kat could use them without any trouble.

--

Once Kat was finished she placed the dishes on the dish rack on the left and then went to wash up and change.

As she changed clothes Kat couldn't help but think back to that moment she and Tommy had that night. Even though it was a few days ago Kat could still picture in her mind her staring into Tommy's deep brown eyes…and Tommy having a look of longing and desire in his eyes as he stared back at her. It had been almost as if he wanted nothing more than to just kiss her desperately but right when it seemed that he would, he stopped himself, and while Kat knew that in a way it would have been a little strange for him to have kissed her (seeing as how she had just moved to Reefside and aside from talking with him on the day of the countdown she hadn't seen or spoken to him at all during these years) part of her, a much greater part, still wondered why he stopped himself.

_It's not like I would have stopped him._ Kat thought slyly to herself as an image of her and Tommy lip-locking began to swim in her head.

As she continued to muse on this her cell phone then rang. Kat then went to her backpack's mesh pocket, picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kat."

"Oh, hi Tommy." Kat replied, the remaining tiredness already draining out of her just by hearing Tommy's voice. "What's up?"

"Oh, I just figured I'd call you to let you know that I'm on the road and as soon as I pick up Hayley I'll head over there. I just got finished talking to Trent, Kira and the others, and they said as soon as they finish breakfast at their homes they'll head over there too."

"Oh, that's great." Kat said.

"Yeah, so, uh-just sit tight, I'll be there soon." Tommy said with a slight tone of nervousness.

_I hope so._ Kat thought wistfully. "Okay, bye." she said as she hung up, a tidal wave of giddiness already beginning to spiral out of control in her mind.

_Katherine, come on, get a hold of yourself. It's not going to be _just_ Tommy helping you fix the place up, y' know. Although…_

Kat quickly shook it off before her thoughts went someplace else and stepped out of her room to take a look at the living room. Though it wouldn't be until today that everyone would give the apartment a makeover Kat had done what she could during the week to clean the place up so it wouldn't be so dusty. Plus Tommy would stop by to give her a hand.

As Kat looked at the living room she then saw by the wall the cans of paint, rollers and paintbrushes they were going to use. Since Kat wasn't sure as to what specific color she was looking for they all looked at different paint colors to see what would be good. After spending an hour looking through different colors, Kat eventually chose green, blue, and peach for the colors they would use.

Next to the paint cans were stacks of old newspapers that Tommy, Conner, and Ethan had scrapped together so they could use them to catch paint drips as they painted the walls. Since nobody had shown up yet Kat decided to take them, lay them out on the floor, and get them ready as best she could.

--

"Okay, Conner, you do know how to get to Katherine's apartment, right?" Ethan asked.

"Trust me Ethan; I know how to get there." Conner replied. "Now I may not be following Dr. O's jeep this time, but…"

"All right, whatever you say, man." Ethan said. "But if an hour goes by and we're still not there yet, then there'll be some hell to pay."

"Ethan, trust me on this." Conner said. "Nothing short of a front-row ticket to an MLS game would stop me from getting there. Besides, seeing Dr. O and Kat 'talk' is good enough for me to go help out."

"Conner, have you been nosing in on Dr. O?" Kira asked.

"What? I can't help it if at times I've seen them hang out during these past few days or the times he's gone to give her a hand with stuff."

"Conner, I don't mean to bug in, but I think Dr. Oliver told us, namely _you_ not to but into his personal life." Trent pointed out.

Conner sighed. "I know, but Dr. Oliver's our friend as much as he is our mentor/teacher. Besides, I'd like to think the dude's got a little bit of a life outside of Rangering and teaching."

"Conner, have you ever heard the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat?'" Kira asked.

"What, and you guys aren't?" Conner asked as he stopped at a red light. "Okay, you guys look me dead in the eye right now and tell me you're not the least bit curious about Dr. O and Katherine, you guys tell me right now that you don't see the way they look at each other (or the way they pretend not to look at each other however you want to look at it), come on, tell me. Now I know you two back there are more conservative than me and Ethan here, but come on…"

_In fact, now that I think about it, somehow I don't think Dr. O and Kat are the only ones giving each other long looks._ Conner thought as he looked at Trent and Kira.

Trent sighed while Kira shook her head in exasperation.

"Okay, I admit, I am a little curious, but if Dr. O doesn't want to tell us, then that's fine. I'm not going to breathe down his neck about it." Trent admitted.

"Kira?" Conner asked.

Kira just sighed. "All I'm going to say is that Trent put it best; if Dr. Oliver doesn't want to divulge his love life, then it really isn't any of our business to want to get it out of him."

_Subtext: she's curious too._ Conner thought.

"Speaking of Dr. Oliver, you think he's already there at the apartment?" Ethan asked.

A sly smile crossed Conner's face as he made a right turn on Riverside road. "If we know our doc, he probably already is."

--

Kat had just finished putting the last of the newspapers on the floor when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me, Tommy."

As soon as she heard Tommy's voice Kat didn't know whether to scream or quickly run to the mirror.

Her hand trembled as she unlocked the door and saw Tommy standing in a white sleeveless T-shirt and casual khakis pants carrying two bags with what looked like tools and some other things.

_Breathe, Kat. Breathe._ she thought as she unconsciously scoped him out from foot to head.

"Hi," Tommy said with his trademark smile on his face.

"Hi," Kat replied with a somewhat dazed tone.

"Tommy, are you just going to stand there in the doorway or are you going to go in?" Hayley asked sarcastically as she came up behind Tommy carrying a toolbox.

"Hayley, relax. I was just going to."

_Yeah, right._ Hayley thought. _Good grief, if you and Kat wanted to, you'd spend a whole freakin' hour in the doorway just staring at each other._

"Hi, Hayley."

"Oh, hi Kat." Hayley replied.

"So what's in the bags?" Kat asked.

Hayley shrugged. "Just some tools and some other stuff."

"Conner and the others aren't here yet, right?" Tommy asked as he set the two bags down by the paint cans.

"No, not yet." Kat replied.

No sooner did Kat say that did a knock come from the door.

"Dr. O! Kat! It's us!" Conner yelled from the door.

_Looks like I spoke too soon._ Kat thought as she made her way back to the door to open it.

"Hey, guys." Kat said cheerfully.

"Hi," said Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent.

"Did you guys have trouble finding the place?" Kat asked as the foursome stepped in carrying various things. Ethan and Trent were both carrying giant pieces of cloth along with a Wal-Mart bag full of household things that Trent was carrying in his left hand. Kira was also carrying a Wal-Mart bag of her own with what looked like more household supplies. Conner on the other hand was the only one who wasn't carrying anything. Not because he didn't want to, but Ethan, Trent, and Kira told him they had everything under control.

"Well, interestingly enough we didn't have any problems getting here, which considering the fact that Conner was the one driving, that's an amazing feat." Ethan said as he placed the giant cloth down on the floor. Trent did the same with his stuff as well as Kira.

"Ah-ha, ah-ha, very funny." Conner said.

"Well, on the apartment front the place doesn't look as dusty anymore compared to the last time we were here." Kira remarked as she looked around the apartment.

"Yeah, during the week I tried to spruce the apartment up as much as I could." Kat said nonchalantly. "Well, with a little help, of course." she said as she smiled at Tommy.

_Hmmm. Interesting._ Conner thought. _And I wonder just what other things our good ole doc assisted our new ex-Ranger friend with._

Trent then clapped his hands together. "All right, we're all here, so, what's the plan?"

"Well, I'd say we get started on the walls first since that's the major thing that needs to be done." Kat said.

"All right." Hayley said. "And while you guys do that I'll get to work on the utility/bathroom stuff."

"Wait, didn't you fix the sinks last time?" Kat asked.

"Well, I did, but since I didn't have my tools at the time I was only able to adjust them to where they would work all right, but only for a while. So hopefully with these-" Hayley then lifted up her toolbox. "-they won't spit out any lead ever again."

"Then hey, do what you have to do." Kat said. "So what's with the stuff you guys brought?"

"Well, we figured just in case we run out of newspaper while we're painting the walls, we could use these." Trent said as he pointed to the two drop cloths he and Ethan had lugged over to the apartment.

"And the stuff in the bags is mostly things for the rooms and whatnot." Kira said.

Kat nodded and then looked from Kira, to Trent, Ethan, Hayley, Conner, and lastly, Tommy. As she looked at him she saw him smiling at her which caused her heart to skip a few beats. Kat inwardly fought to control herself as she merely smiled back at him, then at everyone else. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's do it."

--

For the next 2 ½ hours Katherine, Tommy, Conner, Trent, Kira, and Ethan got started on painting the walls of Kat's apartment while Hayley worked on giving the sinks and the other utilities a massive overhaul. Surprisingly the repairs didn't take as long as Hayley thought, for after 45 minutes she was done with them completely. Once she put her tools back in her toolbox Hayley then grabbed a roller and a paintbrush and joined the others.

The idea was that the main walls (namely the living room and the kitchen) would be painted green, the one bedroom blue and the bathroom a sort of creamy peach color, which was what the group of seven followed. Since the living room had the largest space in the apartment, Tommy and Kat took one side, Trent and Kira took another, and Ethan and Conner took another just before Hayley joined them.

"Okay, is anyone feeling hungry?" Conner asked as he wiped some sweat from his forehead to take a breather from painting.

"You mean besides you?" Ethan asked as he drank from his water bottle and took a look around the living room which was almost close to being done.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a little hungry myself." Trent said. "Kira, what say you?"

Before Kira could answer her stomach growled a bit. "Well, I guess that answers the question." She said which made Ethan and Conner chuckle a bit. Trent just kept a small smile on his face and not much else.

"What about the rest of you guys? Dr. O? Hayley? Kat?" Conner asked.

"Well, I think my stomach's feeling about the same as Kira's, so yes." Kat said.

"It's been a few hours since I had breakfast, so I'm up for lunch if you are." Hayley said.

"Well, if all of you are hungry, then so am I." Tommy said.

"Then that settles it. Now all we have to do is figure out where to go eat." Conner said.

"Well, how about Dairy Queen this time?" Ethan suggested.

--

"Y' know Ethan, I gotta say, this is probably the best suggestion you've ever made." Conner said as he bit into his Double Hamburger with cheese.

"Well, since we ate at Subway the last time, I figured why not try something different?" Ethan asked as he took his hot dog from the tray. Kira, Trent, Tommy, Kat, and Hayley also took their respective lunches from the tray as well. Kira and Kat got a Fish fillet, Trent a grilled chicken, Tommy a Single Hamburger with cheese, and Hayley got a breaded Chicken sandwich.

"Well, I have to say, you definitely had the right idea." Kat complemented.

"Thanks Kat." Ethan said with a smile.

"You're welcome." Kat replied.

"So, what else is left to do on the apartment?" Trent asked.

"Well, the living room's almost done, so I'd say once we're done with that we can do the bedroom, then the bathroom and…after that I'd say we'd be done." Kat answered.

"Well, hopefully Elsa won't decide to pop in for a quick visit." Conner said as he drank his Sierra Mist.

"Dude, did you have to go and mention her?" Ethan asked with a semi-stern look on his face. "Great, now you may as well have just jinxed the whole day."

"Jinxed-?" Conner asked as he didn't know what his friend meant. Then he thought back to the week before with what happened with Elsa and her flunkies popping up whenever they thought she wouldn't show up. "Oh, sorry."

"Well, as surprising as this might sound I don't think Mesogog and Elsa are going to show up anytime soon." Tommy said as he kept his voice low.

"Why's that?" Kat asked.

"Well, I've kept an eye on the scanner for the past few days and so far there hasn't been anything Mesogog-wise popping up in the city."

This surprised Tommy's students a bit.

"Nothing?" Kira asked.

"Nothing," Tommy replied. "Zero, zip, nada."

"Well, maybe Mesogog decided to take a vacation." Ethan said.

Tommy chuckled. "One can only hope." He said. "But all the same, I'll check it out one more time when I get back to my place."

"And speaking of which, _I_ need to check to make sure I have the list of girls that are going to perform in the show." Kat remembered.

"Which show?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, it's the Christmas show Cosmos is planning on doing," Kat replied. "I don't know all the details yet, but I know it's going to be on the 18th at the civic center downtown."

"Sounds pretty cool." Tommy said.

"Yeah, it is. Since they needed some extra hands I figured I'd join in and give them a hand."

"Cool." Ethan said.

"Oh yeah, Hayley, isn't the cyber café open today?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, it is. Usually I'd be there, but since my sister was in town for the weekend I was able to ask her to cover for me this morning so I could come over and help you guys out."

"Does she know how to manage a café for a day?" Trent asked.

"Oh, don't worry, she does. She's an assistant manager intern over at Disneyland so it's no biggie for her, or at least I hope it isn't."

--

A while later, the group headed back to Kat's apartment to finish up what they had started. Kat told them that they didn't have to but Kira insisted that they had started it, and they were sure as hell going to finish it.

Hayley sadly, had to head back to the cyber café to help her sister for a food fight had broken out courtesy of Cassidy and some other teens and Hayley had to get over there quickly to do some damage-control. Kat thanked her for her help which Hayley humbly accepted before she got off Tommy's jeep to head into the café.

After a half hour, the group finished the living room and then split off into doing the bedroom and the bathroom. Conner, Ethan, Trent and Tommy took the bedroom while Kira, and Kat took the bathroom. 45 minutes later all the rooms were done and then Trent, Kira and Tommy spent the next while fitting new blinds and curtains on to the windows of the apartment.

Once they were done Conner, Ethan, Kira, Trent, Tommy and Katherine took a look at the finished apartment.

"Wow," Kira said. "Now _this_ is what I call an apartment."

"You can say that again." Trent said.

"It's beautiful." Kat said as she looked around with a bright smile on her face.

_Well, almost beautiful._ Tommy thought as he smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it." he said.

"Tommy…guys, thank you so much."

"Ah, don't mention it." Conner said.

"You're welcome." Trent said.

"Anytime," Ethan.

"You're welcome." Kira said.

"I'm just glad we could help out." Tommy said as he merely smiled at Kat.

Kat smiled back as she began to go into a staring trance again. "Well, again…thanks a lot."

Conner saw the exchange between his teacher and Katherine and was trying very hard not to say something sarcastic. "Well y' know, seeing as how it's only a few weeks 'til Christmas, you can think of it as almost being a sort of early Christmas present, from all of us." he said.

"Well thank you, Conner." Kat said.

"Suck up," Ethan muttered.

"What? I said 'from all of us.'" Conner protested.

"Y' know, speaking of Christmas, what are you guys going to be doing during the holidays?" Kat asked. "I mean, I know it's early still, but…"

"Well, if you ask me, I'd say I'm probably going to buy some presents for my folks, get a new video game or two…other than that, just the usual." Ethan said.

"I think we're all pretty much doing the same thing holiday-wise. Well, minus the games, of course." Conner said.

"Well, whatever it is you guys do, just make sure you enjoy it. After all, it's Christmas, right?"

"Definitely," Kira agreed.

Suddenly Conner's pager started to ring from his pocket. He picked it up and looked to see who it was calling him. "Oh, crap."

"Who is it?" Trent asked.

"It's my mom." Conner said as he looked at the small screen. "Apparently she's out shopping at the mall (with my dad carrying her stuff I'm sure) and she's wondering if I can pick my brother Eric up from work at Sports Authority since she might be coming home late."

"What time does your brother get off work?" Ethan asked.

Conner then snuck a peak at his watch. "In a couple of minutes." he said.

"Then let me go with you, I kind of have to be home myself." Ethan said.

"Unfortunately, me too." Kira said.

"Ditto over here." Trent said.

"Well, if you guys have things you need to do at home, then go on ahead." Tommy said to his students.

"Thanks, Dr. O." Conner said.

"Well, like I said before you guys, thanks for everything." Kat said.

"No problem." Ethan replied nonchalantly.

The foursome bid their teacher and Katherine good-bye as they headed out the door to the parking lot downstairs. Before Conner headed out the door he called out to his teacher and gave him a wink as well as a thumbs-up which earned him a stern glare from Tommy.

"Even when we're not trying to save the world, they can still be a handful." Tommy said with a sigh as he turned to Kat.

"Oh, they don't seem too bad."

"Well, Trent and Kira aren't, but Ethan and Conner, that's another story. And to think, in the beginning they didn't really get along that good."

"But at least when push comes to shove, those two have each other's backs, right?"

Tommy nodded. "Definitely." he said as he smiled at Kat. "So, what do you think of the complete makeover?"

"In a nutshell, it's great, now all it needs is just some furniture." Kat replied. "Thanks for really helping me out today, Tommy. You and your students."

Just hearing the tone of her voice at that moment was enough to almost entice Tommy to take his hand and gently caress her face. But as usual, he had to fight to control himself and stay on an even keel. So instead he just smiled brightly at her. "You're welcome." He said.


	5. Study buddies and romance consultants

Chapter 5-Study buddies and romance consultants

"Y' know Trent, I had a feeling that your room was pretty big, but even _I_ didn't think it was this huge." Ethan remarked as he took a look around Trent's room.

"Yeah, it's definitely very spacious, that's for sure." Trent said as he sat down by his desk. It was Sunday, the day after everyone had helped Katherine fix the apartment up and Trent, Ethan and Conner hooked up early in the day and decided to go to Trent's house to study for the midterms that were slowly drawing near, seeing as how they hadn't really found much time during the week to do so. Trent had already called his dad about his little study group and Anton gave his okay, saying he would be late getting home from work anyway so Trent and his friends could take as much time as they needed. Kira wanted to come along too, but since she and her band had an audition at the cyber café she had to reluctantly decline to go.

Conner whistled. "Spacious? That's putting it delicately." he said as he scoped out the room. It was definitely pretty big for a bedroom, with movie posters of Spider-Man and X-Men adorning the walls, along with a very cool John Romita Sr./Alex Ross poster of all the Marvel characters near his bed. Next to it was a bookshelf containing "How to draw" books ranging from Disney characters to Anime to Graphic novels/Written novels of almost all comic book characters along with the few sketchbooks Trent had finished. On the other side of the room were what looked like three painting easels with large sheets of paper on them that were covered. "You could almost stick a quarter of a soccer field in here."

"Don't I know it," Trent agreed. "But the good thing about it is that at least I have plenty of space to do my drawings and whatnot."

"But wait, don't you have sketchbooks for all your stuff?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah I do, but it's a whole other story altogether if I want to paint something." Trent replied.

"Wait a second, you paint too?" Conner asked.

"Yeah, every now and then when I have an inspiration. Where do you think the drop cloths we used to paint Kat's apartment came from?" Trent asked as he saw the confused look on his friend's face.

Conner for a moment looked a little confused, but when he heard Trent mention Kat's apartment he then got it.

"Oh yeah, those." Conner said as he remembered.

"Yeah, I keep them in my closet when I'm not using them."

"So Alex Ross, have you had any inspiration lately?" Ethan asked.

Trent shrugged. "Well, sort of." He answered as he reached into his backpack and pulled out his class books. "If we have some time after studying I'll show you guys what I've done."

"Cool." Ethan said as he and Conner did the same and took out their own school books. Conner sat on the floor while Ethan studied sitting on Trent's bed. Aside from their academic classes, namely Dr. Oliver's, the trio didn't all have the same class at the same time. However, despite that, the guys were pretty sure that between the three of them, they could nail the material without much trouble, or at least as much as they could that day.

"Okay, this isn't working." Conner said as he put his textbook aside 15 minutes later.

"What isn't?" Trent asked.

"The dead silence, man." Conner said as he gestured to the air around them. "We need some music here."

"You need music to help you study?" Ethan asked.

"Oh, and you guys don't?"

Trent and Ethan looked at each other and gave the other a look that said, "Well, when he puts it that way…"

"All right, let me see what I've got here…" Trent then got up from his desk and walked over to where his stereo was and turned on his radio. Suddenly Ambrosia's "Biggest part of me" started to blare from the speakers.

"Oh, come on! No more old-school!" Conner protested.

"Uh, excuse me; are you making fun of one of my favorite bands?" Trent asked.

"No, it's just…" Conner began. "Look, I've got nothing against Ambosia or Redsnake or hell, even Michael Jackson's music from his old albums, but can we at least hear something a little more modern?"

Ethan sighed. "Like what? Green Day?" he asked with a questioning look on his face. "And oh yeah, it's Ambrosia and Whitesnake." He corrected.

Conner then looked at his two buddies for a few minutes and threw his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right, I give up! Trent, put whatever station you want dude (hell, it's your stereo), but try not to put a station that isn't too vintage-esque."

Trent sighed. "I'll try." he said as he adjusted the knob and searched for a good station. After passing a few stations (of which neither could agree on) he finally got to 91.3 FM, a variety station.

"Now _this_ I can go for." Conner said as Five for Fighting's "A hundred years" started to play.

"Amen to that." Ethan and Trent said in unison as they went back to their respective studies.

--

After an hour and a half of studying (or trying hard not to stare at just one whole page in Conner's case) the guys decided to take a breather for a little bit so Trent took them to the living room where they could relax and just hang.

"Y' know, just out of curiosity I'm wondering just what our good ole' doc is up to today." Conner said as he reclined on the sofa.

"What makes you say that?" Ethan asked.

"Well, just before we left Kat's apartment yesterday I could have sworn I saw (or maybe heard) the two get pretty chummy, if you know what I mean."

Ethan laughed lightly. "You don't miss much, do you?"

"Hey, it's a talent." Conner replied.

"Well, seeing as how her apartment's already fixed up, all they would have to do now is…" Trent said, but then he stopped himself in mid-sentence.

"What?" Conner asked.

"Oh, nothing." Trent said quickly.

"Dude, come on. Spill it." Conner said.

Trent sighed. "Well, I don't know if I should tell you guys this, but…"

"Trent, come on! Out with it, man." Ethan said.

"Okay, okay." Trent said. "I spoke to Hayley earlier today just before we got here, and from what she told me, it's my understanding that Dr. O went with Kat today to look for some furniture for her apartment."

"Furniture, eh? Hmm." Conner mused. "Well, somehow I don't think Dr. O and Katherine are going to have much trouble decorating her place."

"Okay, Conner, could you be anymore perverted?" Trent asked.

"What?" Conner asked densely. "Oh, come on! Am I the only one here who senses the sexual tension between those two?"

"Okay, if you want the truth yeah, we can sense it about as much as you can, but we don't go bragging about it." Ethan supplied.

"Look, Conner, I'd like to see Dr. O with a girlfriend as badly as you do, but whether he does or not isn't really our business." Trent said.

Conner just sighed to himself. "Guys, look…I don't mean to steal Ethan's line, but Dr. Oliver is our friend as much as he is our teacher/mentor, therefore whatever he does or whatever affects him, good or bad, affects the rest of us too, whether it's our business or not."

"And seeing as how he's got a woman (who I swear looks like a cross between Princess Zelda and Samus Aran) hanging around him now, that gives you something to needle him with, right?" Ethan asked.

Conner shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't put it _that_ way, but…" as he then looked at Ethan and Trent the trio then unexpectedly burst into laughter.

"So, just out of curiosity who wants to go back and study?" Trent asked rhetorically in an attempt to change subjects.

"Well, I'm not sure about you guys, but I think I've saturated my brain with enough stuff for today." Conner said as he slumped back on the sofa.

"I'll take a look at my stuff again when I get back home." Ethan said as he looked at his watch. "But hey, while we're here…how about if you show us some of those drawings of yours?" He asked Trent.

"Why not, I'm a little tired of studying myself." Trent said as he got up and led the others to his room/art studio.

--

"Y' know, I may know diddly squat when it comes to drawing, but this is some really cool stuff you've got here." Conner remarked as he skimmed through one of Trent's sketchbooks.

"Thanks, man." Trent said as he handed Ethan a sketchbook for him to look at. "I'm still trying to get my technique down though."

"Why? The stuff in here looks great." Ethan said.

"I know, it's just…I don't know, I guess sometimes after I draw/paint something, and even when I think it's good I still think, _can it be better than this?_"

"Well dude, from what I'm seeing in this book, you don't need to improve yourself." Ethan said as he read through the sketchbook. "You're already there." He concluded as he handed Trent his sketchbook back.

"So what's with those three things you have over there?" Conner asked as he finished looking at one of the sketchbooks and gestured over to the covered papers on their easels.

"Oh, just something I got started on about two weeks ago." Trent replied. "I'm still working on the penciling and the outline but once I've got that down, I'll paint them."

"Can we see 'em?" Ethan asked as he stepped over to them.

Trent hesitated. "Uh-I don't know guys, they're all still pretty rough. Are you sure?"

"Trent, Ethan and I just got through looking through some of your sketchbooks and again, while I don't know anything about drawing, I know that what I saw was anything but amateurish (hell, I have a hard enough time drawing stick figures), so try us." Conner said.

Trent sighed. "Okay, all right. Come on." He then walked over to the paintings and lifted the covers off the ones on the left and right so Conner and Ethan could take a look.

"Whoa," Ethan said as he looked at the picture, which was a rough drawing of all five of them doing stuff: Conner looking like he was about to shoot for a goal; Kira playing on her guitar; Ethan playing on his GBA; Dr. Oliver studying a fossil; and Trent in the middle of the picture drawing something. "Now that's tight. That is really tight." he remarked. "But what's up with this?" Ethan asked as he looked to the bottom center of the drawing which showed an arrow with a caption that said, "Add Kat".

"Well, when I first got started on this it was way before we met Katherine, so I only had the five of us in mind originally, but then after we met her I was already finished with the first draft so I took a look at it and made a note to add her when I draw the final pencil draft so it'll be more complete."

"Hey, that's fine by me." Ethan said. "Although, how come Hayley isn't in here though?"

"Well, the thing is _this_ one's a sort of Ranger Montage picture so sadly I couldn't put her in there, much as I wanted to. Fortunately though for the other one I didn't have to worry about _not_ putting her in."

"Is this one a portrait?" Conner asked as he looked at the other uncovered picture.

"Yeah, it is." Trent replied as he and Ethan stepped over to where Conner was. As Conner was seeing, it was a rough portrait of himself, Ethan, Kira, Trent, Dr. Oliver, Katherine and Hayley standing and posing much like the way a music group would be in a poster.

"Luckily though I hadn't gotten started on that one until last Sunday, so I didn't really have to make much edits to my first draft."

"Isn't this your first draft?" Ethan asked.

"No, that one's the final one." Trent answered. "Even though I couldn't avoid having to make an erase here and there, but it wasn't as much."

"Can't even tell." Conner said as he looked closer.

"Uh-yo, Trent, how come you didn't uncover this one-?" Ethan asked as he looked at the middle painting that hadn't been uncovered. Curious, he then walked over and started to raise the cover off it.

"Whoa! Ethan, wait! Don't lift that one-!" Trent exclaimed as he stepped between his friend and the concept drawing.

"Dude, relax, I wasn't going to tear it or anything." Ethan said.

"I know, but…look, I just don't think it's a good idea if you guys took even a peak at it right now." Trent said.

"Why not?" Ethan asked.

"It's just…just trust me on this guys, it's not ready for anyone to look at yet." he then walked over to the covered drawing in the center of the three and carefully took it off its easel so he could put it in his closet. Once he put it away he then walked back to the others.

"Is it a person?" Conner asked, getting suspicious.

Trent sighed to himself, then nodded. "Yeah." he replied.

"It wouldn't happen to be a portrait of Mary Jane Watson or one of the ladies from the Dead or Alive games, would it?" Ethan asked with a sly smile on his face.

Trent gave him a sly look. "You wish," he replied.

"Just thought I'd ask." Ethan said as he shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's Kira, isn't it?" Conner asked, fighting hard to keep a smile from forming. Though he could see his friend trying to act like it wasn't, Trent's body language confirmed Conner's claim. Trent, on the other hand felt like he had just been floored, but as he saw the knowing smile on Conner and Ethan's faces he knew he couldn't hide it.

"Yeah…it's her." Trent answered.

"Well, that probably would explain you going semi-AWOL on Ethan when he wanted to take a look."

"Look, Ethan I'm sorry if I went crazy before, it's just that…that drawing, it's…it's a special one, more than the first two you guys saw."

"Well, obviously." Ethan remarked. "But come on, where's the harm in showing us a sneak peak? We won't tell her if that's what you're worried about."

Trent sighed. "Guys, I know, it's just…"

"Trent, a lot of times before you've asked us (though not in words) to trust you, and let me tell you, it wasn't exactly easy for _me_ to do that, but you've proven otherwise. So now I'm gonna ask you: Will you trust _us_ now?" Conner asked.

Trent sighed again. "Believe me, I trust you guys more than I do myself, it's just that…I wanted that one to be a surprise, namely for Kira, since-"

"-since it's a Christmas gift for her?" Conner asked with a semi-knowing grin on his face.

Trent looked dumbfoundedly at Conner once again, but then he nodded solemnly and sincerely. "Yeah." he admitted.

"Well dude, me and Conner lookin' at it isn't going to jinx the picture, in fact if anything we could at look at it and tell you right away if she would like it. And if that picture you drew of her in the cyber café isn't proof enough that she likes your drawing skills, then…"

"I know, it's just that…I really care about Kira, you guys. A lot." Trent said sincerely.

"Yeah, I think we already know that." Conner said with a knowing tone.

"It's just that seeing as how Christmas isn't too far away, I just thought I'd do something special for her. Something not over the top but yet not too simple, something-"

"-From your heart?" Ethan asked.

Trent nodded. "Yeah."

"Well Trent, then all I have to say is your heart's definitely in the right place, man." Conner said as he placed his hand on Trent's shoulder. "So if you ask me I say go for it; the ball's on your side of the field dude, so you can either take the shot or not."

Trent smiled. "Thanks, Conner."

"Hey, no problem." Conner replied. "Besides, girls and soccer are two subjects that I _do_ happen to know a lot about."

"You're still not going to show us the concept drawing though, are you?" Ethan asked semi-rhetorically.

Trent thought for a second and then as he looked at Ethan and Conner a small smile spread on his face.

"What the hell?"

--

A long while later, Trent stepped back into his room stretching out his arms a little bit. After he had decided to show the guys his concept of his Kira painting Trent went into his closet and gently pulled out his template. Once he came back he set it up on his easel and unveiled it to his friends. Needless to say, Ethan and Conner were impressed, to say the least. Trent then said that it was only a concept and that he might make some changes to it before he could get to work on the final piece. Ethan and Conner both told him to keep at it, for the concept looked very cool and that if anything, it would indeed be something Kira would love, even more than the one he made for her at the cyber café.

As the afternoon began to fade Conner and Ethan had to take off to their respective homes, telling Trent once more to keep at it and if he needed some help in the romance department (as Conner put it best) to let them know. Trent chuckled and said that he would.

Now here he was looking out the window to his room admiring the sun as it set over the horizon, completely lost in thought. Almost unconsciously an image of Kira and her infectious smile began to pop up in his mind.

_Man, now I think I'm beginning to get a sense of how Dr. O feels whenever Katherine's around._ he thought.

Smiling as he pondered this Trent then walked over to where his easel was, lifted up the blank page which covered the concept drawing of Kira and spent the next few minutes staring at it, trying to see if there was anything else he needed to edit and whatnot. Upon seeing there wasn't for the umpteenth time (since Trent had always taken a look at it even prior to today) Trent clapped his hands on his knees and sighed to himself.

"…_the ball's on your side of the field dude, so you can either take the shot or not."_

Making his decision Trent got up and walked over to his closet and pulled out a drop cloth, which he laid out in front of the easel, which he then moved (without the drawing on it, of course) to where it was on top of the cloth completely. Then he went to his drawing desk and pulled out some paintbrushes, color palettes, and his painting apron. Then he took off his shirt and substituted it for an old t-shirt that he used to paint. Then he went to his bathroom, took out a bucket and filled it halfway with water which he then took to his room. After putting on his apron Trent then looked at the blank sheet of paper he had set aside on his easel and then looked at the concept drawing of Kira on another easel to his right.

_Well, here goes nothing._ he thought to himself as he took one of his paintbrushes and with the concentration of a surgeon, Trent got to work.

--

AN: I don't know what you call the type of desk that illustrators/animators use when they draw, so I called Trent's a drawing desk. If anybody knows what the name for it is let me know.


	6. To dance or not to dance?

AN: Well, I saw (as I know most of you did) the premier of Mystic Force, and let me tell you, this one looks like it's going to kick more ass than SPD did. The only trepidation I have with MF is the capes. What the hell is up with those, man? The only character that evah looked cool with a cape was the Magna Defender. Other than him, nobody should have a cape. But, that's just how I feel. Plus does Mystic Force take place after SPD timeline-wise? Or is it before SPD? 'Cause SPD looks futuristic and Mystic Force still looks modern. (sighs) I'll never figure it out. But as a whole I think this series has potential. Plus Madison & Vida look pretty cute.

P.S.: Now I don't know if I was seeing things, but I could have sworn I saw Erin Cahil (Jen) in a new Fox show called "Free Ride".

--

Chapter 6-To dance or not to dance?

"Okay everyone, now if I can have your attention please." Linda Dawson said as she called all the girls, as well as Kat, Victoria, and Jessica over to where she was.

"Thank you. Now I know we still have a few weeks before the performance, but I figured it'd be best if we begin preparing as soon as possible. Now last week I told you girls a little bit of what we're going to be doing and how and where, but before I continue any further I just want to know here and now, are all of you interested in doing this? Because we cannot do this show if we don't have enough people."

Everyone raised their hand.

"All right, no worries then." Linda said with relief.

"Uh, excuse me Ms. Dawson?" asked a girl.

"Yes?"

"I know we're going to be doing a dance performance at the civic center, but you haven't told us as to what the show is going to be."

"You mean the name of the show itself?"

The girl nodded.

"Well, some of you may know the style of this show, and some of you may not, but…" Linda then gave a small grin. "…the show's name is…'The Nutcracker'."

"Wait a second, you mean sort of like the one that had Macaulay Culkin in it?" Krista asked.

Linda nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "Now I know compared to that movie this performance is going to be smaller, but that doesn't mean we can't make it a good show, and one that isn't going to be boring." she concluded as the girls nodded in agreement.

"So what exactly are we going to be doing in this show?" asked another dance student.

Jessica stepped forward. "Well, since we're doing a ballet version of the story (much like in the movie), we're going to be using dance moves in our production. However, though the movie is our inspiration, we're not going to be using the same moves that were used in it. Instead we're going to give our version a different feel. Or in other words, do it Cosmos-style."

"Now what I have here is programs of what dances we're going to be doing and how many people we need for each piece." Victoria said as she walked over to the group and started handing the girls a slip of paper for each of them to look at. "Make sure to look at each and every part carefully and choose the part decisively, for once all the spots in a part are filled, that's it. And there can't be any changes made once we start this, so if you've chosen a part and you find something else you might like better, let me, Kat, Jessica, or Linda know by the end of the day, otherwise…as they say, 'or forever hold your piece'."

"Since we need to prepare, we're going to cut class a little shorter so you girls can have at least some time to look at the program and see what part you would want to do." Kat said.

"Okay," Krista said as she looked at the program Victoria gave her.

"All right, well, having said that, everyone break off into your respective groups with your respective teachers." Linda said.

--

A short while later, class ended and the girls were then able to take a look at the programs again and choose what they wanted/didn't want.

"You think there'll be enough time for everyone?" Kat asked Linda and the others as she sipped some water.

"I hope so." Linda replied. "Usually we'd have more time in advance to get everything ready and whatnot, but…I don't know, for some reason prep-wise time ain't on our side this year. And as much as I hate to put more pressure on the girls, we only have a few weeks to pull this off, so it's pretty much a are-you-in-or-are-you-out kind of thing, sadly."

Kat nodded.

"Well, we may be a little low on time as opposed to last year when we did 'Christmas Carol', but hopefully everything will fall into place." Jessica said.

"One can only hope." Victoria said.

As the teachers talked, Krista, like much of her other fellow co-dancers was busy looking at the program and looking through the different parts bit by bit, wondering what part she could do.

_Damn, it's almost like being asked what your favorite hobby is and you've got all your favorites on the list._ she thought as she continued to look. Suddenly she then came to a part that as soon as she saw it a small grin spread across her mouth and a look of thought crossed her face

_Hmmm…I wonder…_

After she took a look at the program for a few more moments she then made her decision, checked off the part she was looking at and headed over to where Kat and the other teachers were.

"Uh, excuse me, Miss Hillard? Miss Dawson?"

"Yes Krista?" Linda asked. "What is it?"

"Well, I took a look at the program and I think I've made my choice." Krista said as she handed Linda the program.

Once Linda took a look she then looked at Krista with a small smile and raised eyebrows. "This is the part you want?"

"If it's all humanly possible, yes." Krista replied.

Linda whistled slightly. "Well okay, but just keep in mind though, since you got this role, you need to make sure that you got the moves down as we teach you them in the coming weeks, all right?"

"I got it." Krista said sincerely.

"Okay, good." Linda said as she wrote something down on a clipboard.

"Thanks a lot, Miss Dawson." Krista said.

"You're welcome." Linda replied with a smile.

More girls then came shortly after to tell their teachers of which roles they wanted to do. Linda then showed each girl her clipboard that had the list of what roles were taken and which ones weren't. There were a couple of disappointments since at least someone had a role another girl liked, but eventually it ended with everyone having a role that everyone could at least do.

Once the last girl left for the day Katherine went into the locker room to change clothes while Victoria and Jessica helped Linda move a balance beam over to one side of the room. They had almost placed it right where it was supposed to be when they heard a knock and then the opening of the front doors.

"Hello?" asked a voice.

"Hold on, we'll be right there." Jessica replied as she and the other two women finally put the balance beam in place.

"Who is it?" Victoria asked once they were done.

Linda shrugged. "You got me." She replied as she then walked over to the doors where the voice was coming from. As she approached she then saw a young man looking around the place.

"Uh, excuse me, can I help you?" Linda asked as the man turned around and faced her.

"Uh, yeah, um-" Tommy said as he stammered a little bit. "I was…just wondering…this is Cosmos, right?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, if it says so on the sign, then I'd have to say, yes." Linda replied.

_Okay, good, I wasn't misreading it._ Tommy thought in relief. "Look, I don't mean to impose or anything like that, but I was wondering if Katherine Hillard was around or if maybe you had seen her."

"Well, she's in the locker room changing right now, she should be out soon." Linda said.

"Oh, all right." Tommy said.

"Are you a friend of hers?" Victoria asked with a little bit of a sly smile on her face.

"Yeah, you could definitely say that." Tommy replied. "I'm Tommy Oliver."

"Linda Dawson," Linda said as she shook Tommy's hand. "And this is Jessica Velasco and Victoria St. John."

"Nice to meet you," Tommy said.

"So how are you friends with Kat?" Victoria asked curiously.

"She and I knew each other since we went to high school together." Tommy replied. "I had run into her-literally run into her while I was on my way out to get something for the Thanksgiving party at Hayley's Cyberspace."

_Hmmm. Interesting._ Linda thought.

"That's when she told me that she had moved here from London and well, I figured I'd help out and show her around as much as I could."

"Oh, that's sweet." Jessica remarked.

"Linda!" Kat called out as she approached the group, unaware of Tommy standing with them.

"Right over here, Kat." Linda said.

"So, are we going to start-" Kat began, but then she stopped as she saw Tommy. "Hi Tommy,"

"Hi." Tommy said.

"What's up?"

"Well, I was passing by here and I thought maybe I'd give you a ride over to Hayley's or to your apartment so you didn't have to take the bus." Tommy said nonchalantly, even though his hands were already beginning to get sweaty just by looking at Kat. "Plus, I had also gotten a call from the guy over at Rooms-To-Go saying that they still have the sofa available and if you were still interested."

"Oh, right." Kat remembered. "Well, just give me a few minutes and I'll be right out."

"Okay. I'll wait outside." Tommy said.

Once he stepped out Linda whistled. "So who's the hottie?" she asked Kat slyly.

"He's…an old friend." Kat said as a blush began to spread up her neck.

"Uh-huh." Victoria said sarcastically. "Yeah, the looks you two were giving each other were pretty obvious."

Kat didn't say anything, but the light blush across her cheeks said it all.

"He lives here, right?" Linda asked.

"Yeah. He started teaching over at Reefside High a few months ago."

"So he isn't that much of a resident, is he?" Victoria asked.

"Well, compared to me, he definitely has more, but even he's a little bit of a new guy." Kat replied with a smile. "Well, anyway are we going to start tomorrow?"

"Yes, we are." Linda said.

"Okay," Kat said. "Just wanted to double check."

"Well, go on, girl! Don't keep 'Tommy' waiting!" Victoria said slyly as she tried to mimic Kat's Australian accent.

Kat just laughed. "See you tomorrow, guys." She said as she headed out the door to the front of the building where Tommy was waiting.

--

AN: I've looked through this chapter a few times and I'm still not sure whether I should add something or not, but if anything I probably might later. But anyway, read it and see if you like it.


	7. O come all ye Power Ranger faithful

Chapter 7-O Come all ye Power Ranger faithful

"Hyah!"

Tommy nimbly jumped back as Conner executed a roundhouse kick towards his chest. He quickly countered back with a tornado kick which almost knocked Conner off balance but he quickly recovered and did a foot sweep that connected and knocked his teacher down.

"Whoa, are you okay doc?" Conner asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, no harm done." Tommy replied as his student helped him up. "Let's go one more time."

As Conner and Dr. Oliver continued to spar, Kira, Trent, and Kat were watching from the porch while Ethan was watching slightly closer but still from a distance as he took a look at the stopwatch he was holding in his left hand. Tommy had given Ethan the stopwatch so he could keep track of the training time and once it said one hour on the dial Ethan was to stop the watch and call it, and according to the watch, time was almost up.

Conner then did a side kick which Tommy blocked easily and then he countered with a spinning kick to which Conner did a back flip to dodge. Once his feet were back on the ground he then heard a beeping sound.

"All right guys, time's up." Ethan said as he hit the stop button on the watch.

"Good job, Conner." Tommy said.

"Thanks, Dr. O." Conner replied as he and his teacher, along with Ethan joined the others by the back porch of Tommy's house to catch their breath and relax. A few days had gone by since Monday and during those days Tommy and Katherine had gone over to Rooms-to-go to check out some furniture for Katherine's apartment, namely the sofa that Kat had seen the other time they had been there. After spending some time looking at it as well as some other furniture Kat decided to go ahead with buying the sofa. After the paperwork was filled out, the employees told her it would take a few days for it to be delivered but that was okay as far as Kat was concerned. It was also during these past few days that Kat, Tommy, Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent were able to help Hayley with putting out the Christmas decorations for the cyber café so the Christmas season would really be in full motion.

So it was on this mid-Saturday that Tommy had called Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent over for some training to which Conner and Ethan complained a great deal about. Since it didn't look like Mesogog was going to be hatching any plans at any time they figured there wouldn't be a problem with taking a break altogether for the holidays. Tommy sympathized, but then he told them that even though they all _should_ relax (especially since it's the holidays) they should still try to be prepared, even if it was a little bit.

"Just because Mesogog hasn't been up to anything lately doesn't mean that he isn't planning something in the future."

So after they got the call the foursome then headed over to his house. Once they got there they saw Tommy and Kat doing some katas out in the back and Kat's moves were pretty much as precise as Tommy's which made the guy's jaws drop open and Kira looking on in awe. Once the two were done with their katas they then saw the four teens standing there and Tommy jokingly asked his students if they were catching flies. The foursome quickly snapped out of it and walked over to where their teacher and Katherine were.

"Y' know something, Kat?" Ethan asked. "You may not be a Power Ranger anymore, but as far as I'm concerned, you don't need the power, you've already got it inside you."

"Thanks, Ethan." Kat said.

"So what brings you here?" Conner asked.

"Well, I figured since its Saturday and Cosmos is closed on weekends I thought I'd come over, hang out." Kat said as she smiled at Tommy who couldn't help but smile back at her.

One hour later Tommy and his students were done with their training, so they, along with Kat headed back to Tommy's kitchen to relax and drink some Gatorade.

"Okay, just out of curiosity does anyone know what the temperature is?" Conner asked.

"Well, from what I heard this morning they said it was going to be in the early 70's today." Tommy replied. "Why?"

"'Cause I could've sworn that it was warmer than that."

"Conner, you're a jock, you practically sweat bullets everyday just by moving around." Ethan pointed out which made everyone chuckle.

"So Kat, how's the Nutcracker dance thing coming along?" Kira asked. During the week Kat was asked as to what the show was going to be and Kat had told them that it was going to be their own version of the Christmas classic "The Nutcracker".

"Oh, it's coming along pretty good." Kat replied. "We just got started on the dances in the first act this week, so hopefully we'll have that down by next Tuesday so we can get started on the next acts."

"Are you going to do the whole thing much like what was seen in that movie years ago?" Ethan asked.

"Not really," Kat answered. "Since we're kind of pressed for time, we won't be able to do everything like as if it would be a full, feature-length show, so what Linda (my boss) proposed is that we do the most important parts in the acts first, and only once we did those acts well could we then see if we could add in anything else. Because neither Linda or me or any of the other teachers there want to do an exact copy-cat of what was seen in that movie, other than to just let it be an inspiration."

"And that's kind of a pretty good mindset to go by." Tommy said in agreement. "'Cause if you're using something as an inspiration (in this case the Macaulay Culkin movie), you don't want to copy every little thing from the film, but you do want it to give you an idea to work with so you can make the material your own."

Kat nodded in agreement. "That's why I'm hoping that Krista can learn the moves and be proficient with them as we go."

This got Conner's total, incomplete attention.

"Wait a minute, did you say 'Krista'?" He asked.

"Yeah," Kat replied.

"W-would this Krista happen to be the same Krista I think you're talking about?"

"Well, who would the Krista you know look like?" Kat asked.

"Well, she's…" Conner started to stammer a little bit, but then he calmed his nerves. "She's about 5' 2"; has long, red hair; green eyes; has a very passionate, sometimes fiery personality…"

"Yeah, I'd say that's definitely her." Kat said in amazement. "How do you know her?"

"She goes to the same school as the rest of us." Ethan said as he looked at Conner with a sly smile.

"What? I just wanted to know if it was the same girl." Conner said as a light blush began to spread up his neck. "I mean, I knew she was always deep, but I didn't know she also did ballet, too."

"Dude, the only reason you know she's deep is because Trent and I told you." Ethan replied. "Otherwise you would have thought she was yet another typical girl."

Still blushing, Conner looked down and found himself quickly interested in his fingers.

"Okay, come on boys, don't needle him too much." Kat said.

_Thanks, Kat._ Conner thought. "So she's actually in this ballet show you're doing over there at Cosmo?" He asked, not remembering the dance school's name very well.

"Yes, she's doing the lead role of the girl Marie." Kat replied. "And she's quite amazing, I have to say. Off the dance floor she's this sweet, humble girl, but once she's on the dance floor she switches gears, or dare I say it, she morphs into someone else and becomes completely focused and approaches her dancing with a very passionate side. She has made a few slip ups on some moves, but only a few, and for me, that's okay, because you're not always going to get it right the first time, so I just tell her to keep at it and so long as she doesn't lose that spark, she can accomplish anything."

As Kat spoke, Conner found himself slowly going into a trance. He didn't really will it, but unconsciously he began to find himself picturing Krista dancing around gracefully and beautifully around a rink.

"Pshhhhht. This is Mission Control to _Tyranno_, come in, over." Ethan said as he spoke closely to his friend's ear which quickly snapped Conner out of his trance.

"Oh, uh, sorry guys."

"Took you a while." Trent said.

"I was…focused…on something." Conner protested.

"Something or some_one_?" Kira asked.

Conner said nothing, but his gaze turned to the middle of the table as the blush rose up on his face again.

DING-DONG!

Everyone's heads turned toward the front door as the bell sounded.

"Hayley's done working over at the café for the day?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know." Tommy said as he got up from his chair. "You guys wait here; I'll go answer the door."

Once Tommy got to his door he began to wonder if it was in fact Hayley and she just decided to close the café early and join everyone here.

_Nah…doesn't sound like something Hayley would do…but then, who else could it be?_

As he unlocked the door and opened it who he saw standing on the other side was a complete and total surprise.

"What's up, bro?"

"Jason!" Tommy exclaimed as he gave his best friend a high-five, then he enveloped him in a brotherly hug. "How's it going?"

"Oh, well, not much, though it has been a while, man."

"Yeah, you could definitely say that." Tommy replied as he then noticed Emily standing next to him. "Hi, Emily."

"Hi, Tommy." Emily replied with a warm smile.

"Yo! What about the rest of us here?"

Tommy then looked behind Emily and Jason and saw three other old friends of his standing beside them.

"Rocky! Adam! Tanya! What's up, guys?" Tommy asked as he greeted his friends.

"Well, nothing but the sky, or in your case, the ceiling." Rocky quipped.

"Well, come on, come in, come in." Tommy said as he ushered them inside his house.

"So, what brings you guys all the way to Reefside?" Tommy asked once they were all inside.

"Well, I guess you can say-" Tanya began, but then when she saw Katherine step from the kitchen to the living room a big smile spread across her face. "Kat! Hey, girl!"

"Hey, Tanya." Kat said as she gave her best friend a sisterly hug.

"Y' know Tommy, when Kat first said that you were living here as well, I was still a little surprised, but…damn! It really is a small world after all." Tanya remarked as she released Kat to face Tommy.

"Don't I know it." Tommy said as he looked from Tanya to Kat.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, I guess you can say it was thanks to the 'hotline'." Tanya said as she gestured to Jason. "Jason told Adam and me and then I filled him in on anything else he didn't know."

"And vice versa." Jason supplied.

"So, after we talked, we all figured, why not come by and see what you've been up too, along with seeing who the new recipients of the power are."

"Well, all the same, it's great to see you guys again." Kat said as she hugged Jason, Emily and the others.

"Uh, Dr. O? Is there some kind of party you didn't tell us about?" Conner asked as he and his friends entered the living room.

Tommy laughed. "No Conner, there isn't." He replied as he realized that he had been so caught up with reuniting with some of his old friends he had forgotten that his students were there too. "It's just some old friends of mine." He then gestured for them to step forward as he introduced them to Jason, Emily and the others. "Guys, these are my students: Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent-" he then introduced his old friends to his students. "And guys, this is my best friend Jason, his wife Emily; Rocky; Adam, and Tanya."

Once again, Conner and the others were shocked. It was amazing enough that they had met Kat, who had worn the Power Ranger duds almost as long as their teacher had, but getting the chance to meet some other old friends of their teacher's was something that neither of them ever thought would happen.

"Nice to meet you." Conner said as he shook hands with Jason.

"Same here," Jason replied whole heartedly. "You're the new guy, right?"

At first Conner was surprised that Jason knew what he was but then he realized that more than likely his teacher and Jason had still kept in contact with each other over the years.

"Yeah."

As the four teens greeted the others Conner then remembered that he hadn't seen Emily at all in Dr. Oliver's video journal.

"Um, excuse me-Emily, right?" Conner asked as he approached her.

Emily nodded.

"Just out of curiosity were you ever a Power Ranger?"

Emily smiled. "Sadly, no. As cool as that would have been." She replied. "Everybody else though, was."

"Y' know Tommy, I have to say; you got some nice digs here." Rocky said as he took a look around the house.

"Oh trust me, you ought to see the lab he's got underground." Ethan said.

"Really?" Adam asked.

"Really really." Ethan replied.

Tommy sighed, already knowing what his old friends were going to say. "Come on, follow me guys."

--

"So this is how the other half lives, huh?" Rocky asked sarcastically as he and the others looked around the lab.

"More or less." Tommy replied.

"This place looks cozier than the old command center." Adam remarked.

"I know, that's what I said when I first saw it." Kat said.

"So where are the zords kept?" Jason asked.

"Over in the hangar bay in the back of the lab." Trent answered, remembering having to head back there once to wash them.

"Did you actually create all of this by yourself, Tommy?" Emily asked.

"No, most of it I had help from Hayley."

"Oh," Emily said as she remembered Jason telling her about Tommy's college buddy.

Jason grinned. "Well, that's good, because if you had actually done all of this by yourself, I would've sworn that somebody had switched-"

"-mine and Billy's brains, yeah, I know." Tommy said as he remembered Hayley and Kat's banter about him needing help with creating the lab.

"Oh yeah, Tommy, do you have anything in the fridge?" Rocky asked as he patted his stomach.

"Rocky, you just ate an hour and a half ago." Adam pointed out.

"Really? 'Cause I thought it was longer than that that I ate."

Adam sighed. _Rocko, it's amazing after all these years you don't already weigh 500 pounds._ He thought to himself.

"Well, you can head back upstairs and check to see if there's anything in there, but…" Tommy began.

"Uh, doc? I checked before when we were relaxing after our training, and there's nothing in there but Gatorade, and stuff that used to look like Cold Cuts, or was it dark penicillin-I don't know, but either way, I don't think it's a good idea that anybody should use anything but the drinks in your fridge." Ethan said.

_Oops._ Tommy thought. _And I thought I got rid of those things already._

"Well actually, now that Rocky mentions it, I'm a little hungry myself." Emily said.

"See what you did, man?" Jason said in mock surprise.

"What? All I said was I was hungry." Rocky protested.

"I know, but just by saying that, now I think you've gotten everybody hungry." Jason said. "And you don't even need to have your stomach throw you signals, all you have to do is just say it and the hunger spreads."

Tommy sighed. "Okay, now is anyone else besides Rocky hungry?"

Practically everyone raised their hands.

Tommy then shrugged and threw up his hands in the air. "Well…Hayley's cyberspace, anyone?"

--

"Whoa," Rocky mused as he took a look around the cyber café with the Christmas decorations adorning the place. There was mostly snowflake looking cutouts and an Advent wreath hanging from the ceiling, along with Christmas-themed table cloths on all the tables. Plus on some of the computer screens were screen saver pictures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends in Christmas gear; Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad standing by a Christmas tree opening presents, and on some other screens were pictures of two couples, one looked like a tall guy in green clothes holding a beautiful woman with a giant cloak wrapped around both of them with three triangles embedded in the cloak with what looked like mistletoe up on top of them; another was of a tall guy with a braid coming from behind his ear kissing a petite woman with cinnamon bun-style hair on the sides of her head with a snowy background on the screen. On the tables that didn't have computers there was a small Christmas tree in the middle of the table. "Surf Spot, eat your heart out in more ways than one."

"You can say that again." Adam agreed.

"Hayley's the one who runs this place, right?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, she does." Kat replied.

"But I thought you and Tommy said she was a programmer or something." Tanya said.

"She is." Ethan said. "It's just that after a few years of working in those big cheese technology companies she decided to break out on her own and do something else. So she decided to open up this place and well, the rest is history."

"Well, by the looks of things, I'd say she's doing pretty well for herself." Emily remarked as she looked around.

"Hey guys." Hayley said as she approached the group. "Whoa, is there some kind of party going on at your house, Tommy?" Hayley asked.

"Uh, no." Tommy replied.

"We're old friends of Tommy's." Jason said. "We just thought we'd stop by here, pay him a visit, see how he was doing with his teaching and all that good jazz."

"Oh," Hayley said.

"Hayley, this is Jason and his wife Emily; Jason & Emily, Hayley."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Hayley replied as she shook Jason's and then Emily's hand.

"Tanya."

"Adam."

"Rocky." Rocky said as he gave Hayley his million-watt smile.

"Nice to meet you." Hayley said as she couldn't help but return the smile for some reason. "So what can I get you guys?"

"Um, well…" Rocky began.

--

"Oh man, that was delicious." Rocky said as he patted his stomach.

"Amen to that, man." Conner said in agreement.

"Okay, are you two sure you're not distant cousins or something?" Kira asked.

Conner and Rocky shook their heads which then made the others shake their heads or just smile in amusement.

"And here I thought only Conner had the bottomless pit in his stomach." Ethan remarked.

"Oh trust me Ethan, you haven't seen anything yet." Adam said which made Tommy, Kat, Jason, Emily, Tanya, Ethan, and Trent chuckle.

"So Kat, how's the Christmas dance show coming along?" Tanya asked as she remembered Kat telling her about it during the week.

"Well, we just got started this week, and so far everything's coming along pretty nicely." Kat replied.

"When's the night of the show?" Adam asked.

"The 18th."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Think maybe it's possible to get us some seats?" Rocky asked.

Kat shrugged. "I'll see what I can do."

"And speaking of doing, how's the dojo coming along?" Tommy asked Jason. After Rocky had opened up his karate school he found that there were a lot more students signing up than what he had originally thought. So he called Jason up one day and asked him if he would be interested in helping him teach the kids. Jason agreed and he and Rocky had been running the school ever since.

"Oh, it's coming along pretty good." Jason replied. "Although sometimes I still need to remind Rocky about paying the bills for the school."

"Oh come on! It was only once!"

"Actually, Rocky, it was three times." Emily replied.

"So are you guys going to be here for a few days or…?" Hayley asked.

"Sadly it's only today." Jason said.

"Well…who's to say we couldn't come back?" Rocky asked as he smiled at Hayley a bit.

"Well, if you guys can come back before Christmas please come by here. I'm planning to have a small Christmas party here at the cyberspace, so if you guys can make it…"

"Will there be food?" Rocky asked.

"Food, music, you name it." Hayley said.

As Rocky looked from Jason to Hayley he then shrugged slightly and slapped his thighs lightly.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but if that's the case, then as Timon and Pumbaa would say, Hukuna Matata, I'm there." Rocky said.

Once again, Hayley couldn't help but want to smile brightly in spite of herself. "Great." She said.

--

After spending a while at the café, everyone (minus Hayley) decided to head back to Tommy's house, all the while talking about the old days and telling Tommy's students about their own encounters and experiences as Rangers. Needless to say, Conner, Trent, Kira, and Ethan were impressed.

"So Kira, Kat tells me you want to pursue a career in music." Tanya said as she, Kira and the others entered the Dino Ruins under the house.

"Yeah, I do." Kira replied.

"Have you done any demos?"

"I've recorded a few."

"Have you sent them to a record company?"

"Well, I had actually gone to one a while back, but the things they did…the way the song was mixed and the attire the producer had me wear for the video, it just…it just wasn't me. So I kind of jumped ship with that company. Although I'm still trying to find the right record company that I can work with though."

"Well, I don't know about record companies, but in terms of music producing and such, I think I can be of help."

"How?" Kira asked.

Tanya just smiled. "Well, let's just say that just recently I just got through co-producing an album of one of the best blue-eyed soul (or Rock & Soul as I like to say) singers on the planet, Michael McDonald."

"One of the Doobie Brothers' former frontmen?" Kira asked, her eyes widening.

"Pretty much," Tanya replied nonchalantly.

"Along with Richard Marx, Alicia Keys, and Brian McKnight." Adam added.

"Get out of town," Trent said in disbelief.

Tanya blushed a bit, but then she smiled. "Believe me, I know it seems pretty far-fetched, but I did get a chance to work with each of them at some point in the past."

Kira was speechless. "Wow,"

"Yeah, so if you want, you can come by my place once winter break starts and show me some of your demos."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Kira said, already feeling excited beyond words. "Well, actually, here's an even better idea, how about you come by during the Christmas party at Hayley's on the 21st, and I'm slated to sing that night anyway, so…"

"Hmm. Y' know, that is a good idea." Tanya said. "Okay, you got it, I'll be there."

"Hopefully Mesogog won't try to crash it like he did with the Thanksgiving party though." Conner said.

_And the Oscar for best jinx goes to… _Ethan thought sarcastically.

"That makes all of us, Conner." Tommy said.

"Who's Mesogog?" Adam asked.

"Let me guess, _he's_ the new baddie on the block?" Emily asked.

"Pretty much." Trent replied.

"Let me guess, he's a mutant monster who has delusional dreams of world domination?" Jason asked.

"Worse, he wants to basically turn the world back to the prehistoric age where dinosaurs rule and us humans are nothing but tiny irritating mammals."

"So I take it the five of you really have your work cut out for you, huh?" Adam asked.

"Well, in a nutshell, yeah." Tommy said. "But we have been able to throw more than a couple of monkey wrenches into Mesogog's plans, but in true villain fashion, the psycho refuses to quit, and God only knows as to what that freakazoid's planning next."

"So what are your power sources?" Rocky asked.

"They're special rocks that are called Dino Gems." Tommy replied as he showed his old friends his bracelet with his gem embedded in it. "I had found the first three on an expedition up north several years ago, and the other two weren't found until much later."

"So what are your powers?" Tanya asked.

"Well, for me…" Tommy began as he began to concentrate. Suddenly his Dino gem glowed and he disappeared in front of the group. Then after a few moments he reappeared.

"Whoa," Rocky mused.

"Each gem's got its own special power."

"So what about Conner and the others?" Jason asked.

Before Tommy could explain Conner then zoomed around the group and came to a stop right where he was before.

"No need to explain, doc." Conner quipped.

"So he's as fast as Road Runner or something?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah." Tommy replied as he looked sideways at his student. "And with Ethan, he's got skin armor (or in other words, his skin can become as hard as steel), Kira can shoot out sound waves from her mouth, and Trent can blend into backgrounds as easily as the alien from the Predator movies."

"Now why didn't we have this kind of stuff back in the day?" Rocky asked.

Jason shrugged. "Who knows?"

"So what's the command to morph?" Emily asked.

"It's 'Dino-Thunder, power up'." Conner replied.

"Y' know what, how about if we see you guys morph, just for old times sake?" Tanya asked.

"Yo, no problem." Ethan said as he, Trent and Conner got up in front of the group.

"Well, if you guys are going do it, then hell, I'll do it too." Kira said as she got up and joined the others.

"Hey Dr. O, come join us." Conner beckoned.

"Uh…I don't know."

"Come on doc! You know you want to." Ethan said.

Tommy sighed. "All right." He said as he went over with the others.

"Ready," Tommy said as his bracelet transformed into his morpher.

"Ready," replied his students.

"Dino-Thunder, power up!"

"White Ranger, dino power!"

Suddenly Conner, Ethan, Kira, Tommy, and Trent stood there fully morphed in front of Kat, Tanya, Adam, Jason, Emily, and Rocky.

"Okay, now _that's_ awesome." Emily said.

"So what do you guys think?" Tommy asked.

"Cool-looking outfits, bro. But the red and blue ones look very similar to the old ones me and Billy used to wear, respectively."

"Well, when Hayley and I came up with the color scheme I decided on those two colors deliberately for the T-rex and Triceratops." Tommy replied as he powered down. "Besides, considering which dinosaur powers those two gems respectively belong to, could you think of any better colors for those two?" he asked rhetorically.

Jason shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, if you actually had given those two dino powers different color schemes, Jason and I (along with Billy I'm sure) would've been seriously pissed at you." Rocky said.

"Y' know, there is something I do want to ask you guys, though." Conner said as he and his friends had powered down as well.

"What is it, rookie?" Jason asked.

Conner sighed and took a deep breath before he spoke. "Well, you guys (except Emily, of course) have been Rangers at one point or another many years back. Hell, some of you guys were practically the ones who set the standards for many other teams to follow. Plus a lot of you served longer than most." He then paused. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though it was years ago that you guys wore the duds and all that, do you guys miss it at all?"

Jason and the others grew thoughtful as they pondered what Conner asked. In a lot of ways, it was a question that each of them asked themselves at several times during their post-ranger years. Finally Jason looked at Conner and gave a warm smile.

"Well Conner," he said. "I can't speak for everybody here, but…between me and your friends (and Tommy); I miss it about as much as I would miss the very air I breathe."

"Well Jase, you say you can't speak for all of us, but in more ways than one, I agree with you." Rocky said.

"So do I." Adam agreed.

"Me too." Tanya.

"Me as well." Kat said.

Tommy smiled and nodded in agreement. If he hadn't discovered the black Dino gem (granted, Mesogog had gotten his hands on it first), he would've had a complex seeing his protégés go into action and him not being able to do much except watch from his lab and offer as much advise and support as he could.

After a few moments Jason looked at his watch. "And speaking of which, I think we need to get going."

"So soon?" Ethan asked.

"'Fraid so." Rocky said. "Jason and I only had the dojo closed for today, tomorrow though…well, that's another story."

"And I have an early shift tomorrow at Disneyland." Adam said.

"What do you do?" Kira asked.

"I'm one of the stunt guys over at 'Lights, Motors, Action!'."

"Sweet," Conner said.

So the group made their way back up the stairs to Tommy's house and everyone bade their goodbyes to Tommy, Kat, and Tommy's students. Just before he stepped out the door Jason looked at his best friend, gave him a thumbs-up, winked, and said "Good luck with her, bro." softly to which Tommy silently told him to can it. Needless to say, Jason grinned widely and chuckled to himself as he stepped out the door to his car.

"Well, I gotta say, this was one hell of a visit." Rocky mused as he reclined in the backseat of Jason's Eclipse.

"Was it because you got to chow down or was it because of that redhead you kept sneaking smiles to?" Jason asked as he and Emily got in front.

"Uh, well…" Rocky stammered as he started to blush. "Well, of course it was the food! And…she was pretty cute." He said as he pictured Hayley's face in his mind.

"Cute?" Adam repeated. "Rocky, you were practically giving her million-watt smiles every ten seconds, man. And if I wasn't seeing things, I could've sworn that she was smiling back at you, and all you can say is that she's cute?"

Now the blush on Rocky's face went from a light pink to a deep red as he glared at his friend.

"Ah, forget about it, I'm just clowning you." Adam said.

"Well, that aside, I do hope Tommy and Kat get it together somehow." Emily said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who saw the way they were looking at each other sometimes, namely during our talks while we were at the café…I swear, they don't _need_ to say anything, their subtexts say it all."

"Well, seeing as how it's the holiday season," Tanya said as she and Adam got into Tanya's Lamborghini. "There couldn't be a better time in the year."


	8. Jingle Soccer, ballet all the way

Chapter 8-Jingle soccer, Jingle soccer, ballet all the way

_Damn it!_

That word was pretty much the only thing on Conner's mind as he dashed through the High School in an attempt to find the building where his locker was.

_I still can't believe that on a day where I actually willingly clean out my locker (or at least for winter break), I forget, out of all things, my soccer stuff._

He then came to a stop at one building and tried to open the door. Much to his dismay, it was closed shut. He then looked inside through the window and saw no one inside. Then as he stepped back he then noticed the building number on the window, which didn't match the same as the building number he was looking for.

_Great, and here I thought only Dr. O had the bad memory._ Conner thought to himself as he sighed and dashed toward the next building. It was now the week of midterms and for the past two days everyone had been getting most, if not all of their stuff out of their lockers so when Wednesday (which was tomorrow) Thursday, and Friday came around, all they would have to do is take their exams and then head home or go wherever. Fortunately Conner's last practice for the semester was last Friday, so he didn't have much to worry about, or so he thought for when he had gotten home later in the afternoon, he had completely forgotten that he had left his soccer bag in his locker. He tried to remember to pick it up yesterday, but as usual, he forgot like before. Now a while after school let out for today, he and some other of his soccer teammates hooked up to do a makeshift game and talk for a bit before heading off to do some last-minute cramming before midterms and such. Conner had just gotten to his Mustang when an alarm sort of went off in his head and he realized that he hadn't gone back to get his soccer stuff, for he and the guys played their scrimmage in their regular clothes. Cursing to himself, Conner put his backpack in his car and took off back towards the high school. At one point he considered using his gem power to get around faster, but then he remembered the cameras placed around the High school for security reasons so he decided to do it the old-fashioned way.

Now as he was at the second building he came to Conner looked at the building number and saw that it was in fact the one that he was looking for. Desperate, he began to bang his fist on the glass, hoping that a teacher or even a janitor was inside.

_Please, let there be someone in there…_

Suddenly one of the classroom doors opened up and out stepped one of the teachers. Conner recognized her instantly as his history teacher Miss Parker and banged on the glass even louder, hoping that it would catch her attention.

When the teacher heard the banging sounds she turned in the direction the noise was coming from and saw a young man banging on the glass incessantly. Puzzled, she walked over to the doors and opened them.

"I don't suppose you could tell me why you're banging on the glass like a drum, would you Mr. McKnight?"

"Look, I'm really sorry about that Miss Parker; it's just that I left my soccer stuff in my locker and I just need a minute or two to get them out."

Miss Parker looked at him skeptically. "Only for a minute or two?"

"Yeah, that's all I need. You can even watch me, just to make sure."

Miss Parker sighed. "All right, come in."

As soon as he was inside Conner made a mad dash for his locker. Once he got to it he quickly opened it and snagged his soccer bag out. Once he hitched it across his left shoulder he made to close his locker door and headed out the building when Miss Parker stopped him.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. McKnight?"

Conner turned around and saw his history teacher pointing towards his locker, which wasn't closed all the way.

"Oops," Conner said as he walked back over to his locker and closed it completely.

"Now I'm as anxious for Winter Break as badly as you, but good grief, don't be too hasty." Miss Parker advised.

"Well, thanks Miss Parker, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Conner said.

Miss Parker smiled. "Good luck on your exams tomorrow, Conner. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Conner replied as he headed out the door, but this time at a not so fast pace.

_All right, now to get out of here._

Conner had just passed the outdoor benches by the cafeteria and was just making his way to the parking lot when he heard a voice from nearby.

"What? Oh, man…And it just broke down a few minutes ago?"

Conner turned in the direction of where the voice was coming from and saw Krista sitting on a cafeteria table talking into a cell phone.

"No, it's all right, it's not your fault. I'll just have to get a hold of Miss Dawson somehow and tell her what's going on. In the meantime, call dad and he'll contact Pep Boys, hopefully it can get fixed. All right, bye."

"Krista?"

"Oh, hi Conner." Krista replied as she put her cell phone back in her pocket.

"Hi," Conner said as he saw a somewhat discouraged look on her face. "Is everything all right?"

Krista sighed. "Well, aside from my brother's car breaking down just as he was on his way to pick me up, no."

Now since Conner already suspected as to where Krista was going he was on the verge of asking her if she was heading to Cosmos, but for once he decided to hold his tongue and not say anything about it. However, he knew he couldn't just stand there like an idiot and not say _anything_.

"So how are you doing?" Krista asked.

"Well, I had to rush back here to get my soccer stuff." Conner replied. "'Cause I sure as hell wasn't going to pick it up tomorrow."

"Yeah, usually after exams finish for the day nobody likes to stick around."

"That's for sure." Conner agreed as he saw Krista's face turn a little solemn.

"Look, I don't mean to…what's the word I'm looking for-I don't mean to…impose or anything like that, but…do you need a ride to Co-I mean…"

_Conner, come on, quit stammering!_

"…would you like for me to give you a ride to wherever you need to go?"

"Well, if you have someplace you need to go to…"

Conner cut in. "Oh no, I don't. I was…just wondering…" _Damn it, what the hell's wrong with me?_

Krista grew thoughtful, then after a few moments a small smile started to grow across her face. "Well, actually…sure, why not?"

For some reason, Conner felt like breathing out very heavily. "Oh, okay. Great. Come on."

"So where's the rest of your posse?" Krista asked as she and Conner walked to his Mustang.

Conner sighed. "They're off doin' some studying/Christmas preparations of their own." He replied. "Ethan's working on some Christmas graphic thing for his mom, Trent's working on some painting for…someone, and Kira's working on some songs that she's going to be singing for the party Hayley's going to have at the cyber café next week."

"Y' know, I'm kind of surprised you hang out with those guys."

"Why's that?" Conner asked.

"Well…it's just that you don't strike me as somebody who would normally hang out with guys like Trent, Ethan or even Kira." Krista pointed out.

Conner sighed as he remembered the few moments in the beginning where he had clashed with Ethan and Kira a few times. "Well, it's true I normally wouldn't have, but since we have Dr. Oliver for 1st period he had sort of grouped us together, so we did kind of have to get used to each other whether we wanted to or not. But then as time went by I guess you could say that we did end up becoming a group of sorts, even though yeah, we still don't have much in common on the personal side." _Well, aside from Rangering._

"Well, y' know, in some ways, that kind of does create the ties that bind." Krista said.

"What does?" Conner asked as he pulled out his keys and opened the passenger door for Krista to get in.

"Differences between people," Krista said as she waited for Conner to get in his side of his car. "People who don't really have much in common on the personal side, but when push comes to shove they still have each other's backs."

"True." Conner said as he got in the driver's seat. "So where do you need to go to?"

"Cosmos Dance Academy." Krista replied.

"Wait, aren't they the ones who are doing that Christmas thing at the convention center on the 18th?"

"Yeah, they are." Krista replied. "Wait, how did you know that?"

_Idiot! You were supposed to act like you didn't know!_ "Uhh…word-of-mouth, really." Conner replied as he tried to stay nonchalant. "Plus I heard Dr. O's old 'friend' Kat say something about it while she was at the cyber café a few days ago."

"So Miss Hillard _is_ a friend of Dr. Oliver's?"

"Well, he says they were only 'friends'." Conner said.

"Well, that explains why they were together that time when that psycho Elsa and those robot monsters crashed Hayley's party."

_Oh, you don't know the half of it, Krista._ Conner thought. "So what are you going to be doing in the show?"

"Well, we're doing a new version of the old ballet classic 'The Nutcracker', and fortunately I got the chance to play the role of the lead girl Marie, so I'm having a great time with that."

"That's great." Conner replied. "Although…who's the one that's going to play the Nutcracker dude?"

"Well, since we don't have any guys in any of our classes Miss Dawson said that she'd try to get her nephew to help, since he knows ballet as well."

"Oh," Conner tried to reply as casual as he could, though he couldn't help but feel a tad bit jealous. "Well, from what you said it sounds like it's going to be a pretty good show."

"Oh yeah. It is a lot of work though, but it's also a lot of fun too."

"Well, since it's a ballet, how are your moves and…stuff?"

"Well, I'm making a lot more progress now than I did when I just got started, so I'm doing pretty well. Plus Miss Hillard helps me out as much as possible, which is always a plus."

Conner smiled and nodded.

"Y' know, speaking of hanging out with teachers, sometimes I see you, Ethan, Kira, and Trent hanging out with Dr. Oliver a lot. Not that I think it's weird, but…what's the deal with that though?"

Conner smiled thoughtfully as he stopped at a red light. "Well…let's just say Dr. Oliver isn't your typical High school teacher."

Krista raised her eyebrows curiously. "How so?"

_Oh, man…why do I get the feeling I said too much? _"Well…just trust me on this, out of all the teachers _I've_ had these past three years, Dr. Oliver's one in a million. Plus it wasn't _too_ long ago that he was a teenager himself."

"How old is he?"

"Uh-27, I think."

"Hm." Krista replied as she nodded thoughtfully.

_Conner, you really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut sometimes, dude._ Conner thought to himself. _Even if it's to Krista._

For the next while they didn't say much as they drove, just small chit-chat as they listened to some music from Conner's car radio. Eventually they showed up at the dance school.

"Is that it?" Conner asked Krista as they showed up on Jackson Blvd. and pointed to a building that was just on the corner to the right.

"Yep." Krista replied. "That's the one."

Once the light changed from red to green Conner then turned onto the street and headed for the front of the building.

"And here, ladies and gentlemen is our final stop, Cosmos. Please exit to the right and make sure to take all your personal belongings and thank you for choosing McKnight services for all your travel needs." Conner said in a mock announcer's voice which made Krista laugh.

"Thanks a lot for the ride, Conner. I really appreciate it." Krista said as she unbuckled her seat belt and unlocked her door.

"Hey, anytime." Conner replied sincerely. "If you ever need a ride here or anyplace, please don't hesitate to ask."

Krista smiled. For a brief moment that Conner was looking at her he could have sworn that her green eyes were sparkling somehow. Then Krista came closer to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly Conner felt as if though he had turned several different shades of red in one second; along with feeling as if though he was burning up in spite of the cold weather outside.

"Thanks." Krista said as she picked up her backpack and gym bag and stepped out of the car towards the front doors of the dance school. As she stepped out Conner noticed something fall out of her backpack and fall in the passenger's seat.

"Krista, wait!" Conner called out as he picked up the item and stepped out of his car to give the piece of paper to her.

"Conner, what is it?"

"You dropped this." Conner said as he handed her the paper.

"What's this-?" Krista wondered as she looked at the paper, but then realized she was looking at the blank side of it. She then turned it around and once he saw the other side Conner then saw what it was.

It was a picture of, well, himself. Or put more specifically, him in his full Red Ranger guise in a cool pose.

_Whoa._ Conner thought.

"Y' know, you can mock me all you want, but I'm not ashamed to have this picture." Krista defended.

"Oh, I'm not about to," Conner said. "But shouldn't you maybe keep him in your room or wherever girls put their idols in?"

"He's not some idol, Conner." Krista said firmly as she placed the photo back in her backpack, this time checking to make sure all pockets were closed. "He's…different."

"Well, maybe…that should be all the more reason."

"Oh, so you're a Power Ranger expert all of a sudden?" Krista asked sarcastically.

"No, but…look, from someone who's had a few Keira Knightley and Lindsay Lohan posters misplaced/lost, believe me, it's better to keep your stuff someplace safe and someplace where you won't forget."

Krista smirked. "Well, thanks. I'll try to remember that." She said. "But that aside, again, thanks a lot for the ride."

Conner smiled. "No problem."

"Well…see you later."

As Krista entered the building Conner looked where she had been just before she entered for a moment. Finally he came out of his trance and turned over to where his driver's door was, since he was standing in front of the passenger's door. However, as he turned he found he couldn't move.

_What the hell-?_

Then he looked where his left sleeve was and saw that the upper sleeve was stuck in the upper part of the door. Conner swore as he tried to pry it off as best he could without getting it torn off, but to no avail.

_Oh great. Stuck to my car by a sleeve. Now that's origina-wait a minute…_

Conner then snuck a peak at the door handle and saw that the door lock was up. Sighing heavily, Conner opened the door, releasing its grip on his long-sleeved shirt. Conner then locked the door and slammed it shut before heading over to his driver's side. Once he buckled up he then pulled out of the building's makeshift parking lot and hooked up back onto the main highway. Aside from the "stuck sleeve" episode Conner couldn't help but think about Krista, most importantly the photo that she had in her backpack.

"_He's not some idol. He's…different."_

_It's funny._ Conner thought to himself. _She's not like any of the other girls I've known or even dated before, and for some reason…I like talking to her. Don't know why but I just do. And yet…she seems to be more interested in my Ranger half (without even knowing it) and it's bugging the hell out of me. I mean, it can't be that…no, no, that's impossible. Come on Conner, don't think crazy stuff, dude. I mean, me? Jealous? That's crazy._

Suddenly the image of Krista staring at the photo a little longingly unconsciously popped up his mind.

_Although…on the other hand, would that be a bad thing…or a good thing?_


	9. Show preperations and giftstorming

Chapter 9-Show preparations and gift-storming

_I don't love her  
__I try to tell myself  
__But you can see it in my eyes_

_So don't deny  
__I can't fool no one else  
__The truth is in the tears I cry cause_

_If it isn't love  
__Why do I feel this way  
__Why does she stay on my mind  
__If it isn't love  
__Why does it hurt so bad  
__Make me feel so sad inside_

"If it isn't love"  
Performed by New Edition

_Though I've tried before to tell her  
__Of the feelings I have for her in my heart  
__Everytime that I come near her  
__I just lose my nerve  
__As I've done from the start_

"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"  
Performed by Sting

--

"Exams are over, thank God." Ethan mused as he, Kira and Trent entered Hayley's Cyberspace.

"I'll second that." Kira agreed as they found a table to sit. Though it was only a quarter to one, the cyber café was still as alive as it usually would be on a weekend. "Although I thought Conner was the one that was paranoid about bombing his exams."

"Oh, he wasn't the only one," Ethan replied as he gestured to himself and Trent. "Some of us are actually better at hiding it than others."

"True." Kira said.

"Hi guys." Hayley said as she came up to the trio's table.

"Oh, hi Hayley." Ethan replied.

"So how did your exams go?"

"Well, I'd say we did pretty good." Ethan replied. "Well, as good as can be expected, anyway."

"Hey, as long as you guys did your best, you can't have done worse than that." Hayley said to which the three teens nodded in agreement. "So is there anything I can get you guys?"

"Right now I'm good." Ethan replied.

"I'll have some hot chocolate." Kira said.

"Same here." Trent said.

"Okay." Hayley said as she checked off her list. As she turned and headed back to the main counter, Trent got up from his chair to join her.

"Actually Hayley, wait up, I'll give you a hand."

"Trent, it's all right. Your shift doesn't start for another hour." Hayley said.

"I know, but…"

"But…what?"

Trent then began to feel somewhat tongue-tied as he tried to think of what to say without making what he _really_ wanted to say obvious.

"Well…could I at least help out with taking the drinks to the table?"

Hayley raised an eyebrow and gave Trent a small smile. He didn't need to say anything else to her, Hayley already knew, or at least suspected.

"Come on." She said as she took him behind the counter.

"So have you got anything in mind gift-wise for you-know-who?" Hayley asked slyly as she took two packages of Nestle hot cocoa mix w/mini marshmallows, opened up one of them and poured the mix into one of two medium-sized cups.

"Well, I've got something I'm working on, but it's still not ready yet though." Trent replied as he did the same thing with the second cup.

"You wouldn't happen to be second-guessing yourself, would you?" Hayley asked.

Trent sighed. "Well, I wouldn't put it like _that_, but…"

Before he could continue, Trent then stopped midway as he saw Hayley looking at him with a questioning look.

"Okay, maybe a little." He admitted. "It's just that I want this thing that I'm working on to be good. Strike that, I want it to be really good. More than the other ones I've done."

As he spoke, Hayley then walked over to a bin and pulled out two plastic spoons to stir the hot chocolate.

"Does she mean a lot to you?" Hayley asked as she handed Trent a spoon.

Trent didn't say anything at first, he just kept his head somewhat bowed in an attempt to hide the small blush that was already spreading across his face as he quickly found himself getting more interested in the chocolate he was stirring.

"Sorry," Hayley said, thinking she might have made him uncomfortable by mentioning Kira, even though she didn't say her name per se, and it was in an indirect way.

"No, it's all right." Trent said suddenly as he finished stirring and placed a foil top on top of the cup so it wouldn't spill. "It's kind of hard to explain, but…it's like…whenever I'm around her, or if I'm even just talking to her…I don't know what it is, but I always feel…it's friendship, but it's more than that. I don't know why it is or why I feel this way about her, but…I just do."

"Well, if that's the case," Hayley said as she took the two cups and placed them on a tray. "-don't let those feelings make you doubt yourself; rather, let them give you something to shoot for instead." She concluded as she gave Trent the tray.

Trent was silent for a moment or two as he thought about what Hayley said to him, then he looked at his boss/friend and smiled. "Thanks, Hayley."

"No problem." Hayley replied nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah, one more thing…" Trent then placed the tray on the counter and dug in his pocket to get his wallet out. Once he did he fished out a $5 and handed it to Hayley.

"What-?"

"It's for Kira's hot chocolate and mine. Put it on my tab."

"Okay." Hayley said as she took the five and put it in the register.

With the tray in tow Trent came striding back to the table where Kira and Ethan were and placed it in the middle of the table so it wouldn't touch the two computers. "Two hot chocolates, made to order." He said as he took his seat by Kira.

"Oh, thanks Trent." Kira said as she reached for one cup. "Oh damn, I forgot to give Hayley the money-"

"Oh, don't worry, I took care of that." Trent said.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I paid for it along with mine."

"Oh, thanks. That's sweet." Kira said with a smile.

Trent smiled back and shrugged. "You're welcome." He replied as he reached for the other cup.

Ethan, who was watching the exchange kept his eyes glued on the computer and tried not to grin so widely.

"So how are your song rehearsals coming along?" Trent asked.

"Oh, they're coming along pretty good." Kira said as she sipped her hot chocolate. "I'm still working on a few of the hooks on the few songs I'm doing, but so far so good. How about you? Any new drawings you've come up with?"

"Well…sort of," Trent replied. "I'm still working on them though (one in particular), but I think I've almost got them down."

"You want to show me one of them when you're done?"

"Definitely." Trent said as he nodded and smiled lightly.

"Hi guys." Hayley said as she came up to the table. "Mind if I take this tray off your hands?"

"Sure." Kira said.

"Go ahead." Ethan said, still engrossed in the computer.

As Hayley took the tray Ethan then cursed. "Damn it!"

"What happened?" Trent asked.

"Oh, nothing much, other than just getting my ass handed to me again on Xevious." Ethan said casually.

"Ouch." Trent said.

"Yeah, double ouch. And just when I was ten points away from beating the current online high score. Not 800, not 1,000 or 2,000, but 10!"

"Well, look on the bright side." Kira said. "It could have been worse, you could have been 2,000 points away."

"True." Ethan said as he got out of the site and logged off. Once he did he then looked at his watch and saw the time. "Hmm. I wonder where Conner is."

"Yeah, where is he anyway?" Trent asked.

"Actually you'd be surprised." Hayley said as she cleared a nearby table that had a few pieces of food and soda cans on it.

"Do you know where he is Hayley?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I'm not gonna say I know for sure, but I think I have a pretty good idea as to where he might be."

"Where?" Trent asked.

"Well, I think he went along with Tommy to the civic center downtown to help with getting the 'Nutcracker' show ready."

"What??" Trent, Kira, and Ethan said in unison.

"Okay, now I understand Dr. O wanting to help (After all, Kat's involved in that), but Conner?" Ethan asked. "What the hell would he be doing there?"

"I have no idea." Hayley replied.

"Okay, Dr. O helping Kat out with the preparations is pretty self-explanatory, but why would Conner want to go?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, I mean, unless there was a girl over there-"

Trent then stopped himself in mid-sentence as it all dawned on him. "Holy smoke."

"What is it?" Ethan asked.

"Do you guys remember last Saturday when Kat was telling us about the show she and the others are working on at the dance school?"

Kira and Ethan nodded.

"Well, Kat had mentioned a girl that was doing the lead role of the character Marie."

"Okay, so…" Ethan began.

"Who do you think the name of the girl was?" Trent asked rhetorically.

In the brief second that Ethan and Kira thought this they then remembered Conner snapping to attention at the mention of the girls' name.

"Krista," Ethan and Kira said.

"Exactly, Krista." Trent said.

"Well, that explains Conner not being able to be here to un-grace us with his presence." Ethan said.

"Well, if he's over there, let's just hope he doesn't make too much of a complete klutz of himself." Kira said.

No sooner did she say that did she, Trent, and Ethan look at each other and smile widely as they tried not to laugh, mainly because they knew that at one point or another, Conner was going to unintentionally do just that.

--

"All right, here we go…" Tommy said to himself as he walked over to a hollowed-out plastic column and picked it up. Though the column was taller than he was, it was surprisingly light and pretty easy to carry.

"Hey Dr O, are you sure you got that?" Conner asked as he carried a box filled with props and other things he couldn't recognize.

"Don't worry Conner, it's not as heavy as it looks." Tommy said to his student as he hitched the column up a little bit so he had a better grip on it.

_Lucky you, doc._ Conner thought. _I just wish I could say the same thing about what _I'm_ carrying._

"Conner, are you sure you've got that box?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah, don't worry Kat, I've got it all under control-"

He didn't finish his sentence, for just as he was about to, Conner ended up hitting the front doors of the civic center hard, causing him to trip and fall, as well as lose his grip on the box, which caused all the contents to spill out and cover him completely.

"Oh my goodness…" Kat said as she walked up and tried to help him out. "Conner, are you all right?"

"Well, I'm not physically hurt; mentally though, well…"

Kat just chuckled. "All right, come on. Let's just put this stuff back in the box."

"Whoa, Miss Hillard, what happened?" Krista asked as she saw Kat picking up some props on the ground and went over to see what was going on.

"Oh, nothing much. Just trying to see if bumping into doors will give these props a confetti effect." Conner said sarcastically as he took a piece of cloth off his head.

Krista raised an eyebrow. "Conner? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard from Dr. O that you guys needed help so I asked Dr. O and Kat if I could come along and lend a hand and whatnot."

"When he somehow ran right into the doors." Kat said as she took a plastic Advent wreath (which wasn't broken) and put it back in the box.

Krista just sighed. "Conner, I swear, we ought to nickname you 'Dopey' or something."

"Oh thanks, I'll take that as a compliment." Conner replied with a smile as he helped the two put the rest of the props back in the box. Once they were done he then picked the box back up. "Okay, this time I got it for sure." He said just before he saw Krista walk over and grab one end of the box so he wouldn't have to hold the thing by himself.

"Well, actually, _now_ you do." Krista said with a smile on her face.

Conner couldn't help but smile back as they both carried the box through the doors with Kat holding the doors. Once they entered the building they saw some banners and many other Christmas things already placed in different areas around the interior. Since the show was going to literally take place tomorrow Linda, Victoria, Jessica, and Kat had already gone ahead the past few days and put up as many props and materials as they could put to get ready for the show. Rehearsals had also been taking place at a very vigorous pace over the past couple of days as well so as a result Linda had to require extra commitment from her students. While this did cause a few girls to complain and rant a bit, it didn't deter them, Krista especially. If anything in her case it gave her an incentive to work even harder.

"Alright, so where does this box go?" Conner asked.

"You can bring it right over here." Linda called from the front of the makeshift stage as she was just getting finished putting evergreen leaves around one of the columns. Once she was done she then picked a clipboard that was nearby and took a look at it. "All right, guess that's that." She said to herself as she reached for her pen that hanging off her ear and checked something off from it. Once she was done she then headed over to where Conner, Krista, and Kat were. Tommy had also joined them after he finished placing the column where it was supposed to go and wrapping the evergreen around it (or at least as best as he could.). "So what have we got here?" Linda asked.

"Well, we got props, props…and some more props." Conner replied.

Linda looked inside the box and skimmed through some of the things inside. "Hmm. Looks like we may have ordered one too many things here." She mused.

"Can we use them still or should we just put them in the back someplace?" Kat asked as she looked around. "I mean, from what I can tell everything looks show-ready to me."

Linda nodded. "Yeah, you're right, everything's all set, but even though we can't use _all_ of the things in here, I don't see any reason why we couldn't use a few things in this box." Linda replied as she looked inside the box again.

"But which things though, and where?" Krista asked.

Linda then stopped looking in the box and looked around the place before turning back to Krista. "Well, I guess that's the million dollar question, now isn't it?" She asked rhetorically as she looked at everyone standing there by her. "Well, I say that for the moment we just take this box and just put it in the back. There's really not else we can do. And like Krista said, as to which props we can use and where we can put them…hell, even I don't know."

So with Linda showing the way to the backstage Tommy and his student picked up the box and followed her with Kat and Krista following close behind.

"So where does it go specifically?" Tommy asked.

"Bring it right here." Linda said as she pointed to a small space next to some stacked chairs which Tommy and Conner walked towards and placed the box there.

"So we're just going to keep it there for now?" Krista asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Hopefully next year we'll be able to use some of this stuff and not just have it there collecting dust." Linda replied

"So prep-wise, is that basically it or…?" Tommy asked.

"Well…"

Linda then took a look around the entire set up for the "Nutcracker" for a long while, looking at every single detail, top to bottom. Once she saw everything she then turned back to the group.

"In a nutshell, I say we're golden."

"So basically we're all set for tomorrow?" Krista asked.

"Pretty much." Linda said with a smile as she and the others headed for the front doors. "So go home and rest up, Krista. We've got a big day tomorrow. And to Tommy and…sorry, I keep forgetting your name-what was it again?"

"Conner."

"To Tommy and Conner, thank you so much for helping out. You have no idea how much me, Kat, and Krista appreciate that."

Tommy shrugged and smiled. "You're welcome."

Conner also wanted to say "you're welcome" as well, but as he looked at Krista for that millisecond he suddenly found himself feeling…tongue-tied again. Fortunately he snapped out of it and smiled brightly at Krista. "Hey, anytime." He said semi-charismatically, though he couldn't help but feel a slight blush rising across his cheeks.

_Okay, that's it. I really need to quit hanging out with Trent so much; his sensitivity's rubbing off on me just a little too well._

"Well, like I said before, Kat, Krista, I'll see you two tomorrow; and Tommy and Conner, if you guys are able to come to the show tomorrow night, please don't be strangers." Linda said.

"Okay." Tommy replied.

"Sure." Conner said.

"Well, take it easy you guys." Linda said. "I'm going to go find the owner of the civic center and ask them to close up."

"Oh, all right." Kat said.

"See you tomorrow Miss Dawson." Krista said.

"See you tomorrow." Linda replied as she went back inside. After she closed the doors Krista's cell phone began to ring.

"It's mine." She said to Kat who instinctively reached for hers as soon as she heard the ring.

"Hello?" Krista answered into her phone. "Oh, hi mom. Yeah, I just got out. You still haven't gotten the gift for him yet? Oh, man. All right, I'll be there as soon as Kevin-it's _still_ giving him trouble?"

"Krista, is something wrong?" Conner asked.

"Mom, hold on." Krista said as she covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "My mom still has to get a gift for my dad and she needs my help with that. Now my brother Kevin was supposed to come by and drop me off by my house, but his car's _still_ giving him guff even he supposedly took it to Pep Boys to get it fixed."

"In other words, he can't give you a ride home, right?" Conner asked.

"Yep."

"Well, if you want, tell them I can give you a ride there. That way your folks and your brother won't have to worry about a thing." Conner offered.

"Y' know what, that might be a good idea." Krista said as she uncovered her cell's mouthpiece. "Mom, mom, it's okay, I'm still here…No, I'm not being held prisoner or anything like that…Look, a classmate of mine just said he'll give me a ride home…No, he goes to Reefside High…Yeah, He was just helping out with getting the final preparations on the show done along with Dr. Oliver…Yeah, I told you about that…Okay, I know, minus the Conner part…All right, I'll see you soon." Krista said as she hung up and put her cell phone back in her pocket.

"So what did she say?" Conner asked.

"She said alright, but to hurry up and not 'dawdle around'." Krista replied.

"Okay, let's go."

"Conner, hold on." Kat said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out four tickets. "Let me just give you these just before you go."

"Are these the tickets for tomorrow's show?" Conner asked as he took the tickets she handed him.

"Yeah," Kat answered. "I didn't know if you, Ethan, Trent and Kira would be able to go or if you guys would want to, so I scrapped a few for you guys just in case you _did_."

"Oh, thanks Kat." Conner said as he pocketed the tickets. "Although somehow I get the feeling that they're going to want to check it out too. But even if they weren't-" he then looked at Krista with a warm smile. "-I personally wouldn't miss it for anything."

Now it was Krista that was fighting to keep from blushing slightly as she lowered her head slightly, but then she raised her head and grinned up at him.

"Be there!" She said in a mock-threat.

"I will. Now come on, let's get you home before your mom decides to report you missing." Conner said as he and Krista headed for the parking lot. "Kat, Dr. O, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See you Conner." Tommy called out.

"Bye." Kat said.

"So your mom's that paranoid when it comes to someone else giving you a ride home?" Conner asked Krista as they walked off.

"Well, not really; but when it comes to jocks (no offense), she tends to be just a little bit weary." Krista replied.

While Conner and Krista headed for Conner's car, Tommy and Kat headed for Tommy's jeep.

"So…is there…anyplace you want to go to or…" Tommy asked Kat in a nonchalant way, though he couldn't help but stammer a bit.

"Well, I am a little hungry…how about you?"

"I'm a little hungry myself." Tommy said as he unconsciously found himself staring once again into Kat's beautiful blue eyes.

_Tommy, you're turning into a broken record, man. Either say something, or just go up and kiss her, take your pick._

Kat wasn't faring any better herself, for as soon as Tommy's eyes locked with hers she lost herself in his gaze again.

_Oh, what the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I just go up to him and…?_

"Do you want to-?" Tommy and Kat both said at once which caused them to laugh a bit.

"You go first." Kat said.

"Do you want to go to Hayley's for a bite?" Tommy asked.

Kat just smiled and nodded. "Sure."

--

"Y' know, I don't think this place could be anymore Christmas-esque than it already is." Kat said as she looked around the café.

"You can say that again." Tommy said in agreement.

"Hi guys." Hayley said as she came up to the two.

"Hi Hayley." Kat and Tommy said.

"So I take it everything at the civic center's ready for tomorrow?"

"Pretty much. Or at least as ready as it's going to be." Kat replied as she and Tommy sat down by a table.

"Oh yeah, Hayley, have you seen Ethan, Kira, and Trent?" Tommy asked.

"Well, last time I checked, they were around-oh yeah, there they are." Hayley then pointed over to a corner of the café to where Ethan was engrossed in the computer screen. Kira was sitting at a nearby table plunking at her guitar and jotting something down on a piece of paper. Trent of course was busy with his waiting duties carrying a tray with food/drinks and bringing them to people.

"Was Conner with you guys?" Hayley asked.

"Yeah, he was." Tommy replied.

"Y' know, I have to say, I didn't think he would be one to help so eagerly with this." Kat said.

"Somehow I think it was more for a certain red-haired girl than anything else." Tommy said slyly.

"So is there anything I can get for you guys?" Hayley asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'll have a…"

--

The rest of the afternoon went by very briskly, with Tommy and Kat having their lunch and chatting. Later after they finished their lunch Kat wanted to try her hand at the foosball machines. Having never really played them at all during his teen days (since he played on arcades mostly) Tommy wasn't so sure, but after seeing Kat give him a sort of pout he caved in and played along with her.

After a while of playing (not to mention losing ¾ games) Tommy gave up and was on the verge of proclaiming Kat champion. But then when Kira, Ethan, and Trent (once his shift ended) joined up with Kira taking Kat's side and Trent and Ethan taking their teacher's, Tommy didn't have much choice other than to join back in. When it was all over, the final results were with Tommy, Ethan and Trent winning 5 games, and Kira and Kat winning 7. Needless to say, the bemused looks on the guys' faces were priceless.

It was getting late into the afternoon when Kira decided to call it a day and decided to head for home so she could continue to practice her songs a little more and also not to worry her folks. Trent agreed for he had his own little Christmas project to work on himself, so he went with her. Ethan, on the other hand decided to stay and surf the net at the cyber café for a while longer. Kat, feeling a little tired from helping out at the civic center (she had gotten there early in the morning to help finish preparing everything before Tommy and Conner showed up to help) wanted to head back to her apartment to relax a bit and also talk to Tanya. Since Tommy was planning to go back to his house anyway, he was more than willing to give her a ride back to her apartment.

"So, tomorrow night's the big night, huh?" Tommy asked as he and Kat rode in his jeep.

"Yeah, pretty much." Kat said as she adjusted the seat so she could lie back a little bit. "Y' know, it's funny, even though I've done many different performances over the years, I still can't help but get a little…"

"-nervous?" Tommy supplied as they stopped at a red light.

"Yeah." Kat said.

"Well Kat, I may not know much about dancing, but the way I see it, I don't think you would be any less of a great dancer (or in this case, a teacher) if you were a teensy bit nervous, in fact, if anything it would probably make you even more greater."

Kat blushed slightly as she smiled. "Thanks Tommy." She said.

Tommy smiled back. "You're welcome." He replied as the traffic light turned green and they were able to go.

"Well, at least the weather's the way it's supposed to be: cold, as opposed to Florida's weather right now." Tommy mused as they drove down the highway.

"Florida's not cold?" Kat asked with half-sleepy eyes.

"Nope. From what I've heard on the radio it still feels like early June down there for some reason." Tommy replied. "Now, it's tough enough that the only snowmen people can make over there is _sand_men, but for it to be warm enough to where you can wear shorts for Christmas…I don't know, it's just weird. Now it doesn't have to be cold like up in New York, but come on, seriously, let it be a little cool down there too, y' know?"

Kat chuckled lightly. "That is very true."

"And speaking of Christmas…" Tommy then adjusted the volume knob as John Lennon's "So this is Christmas" started to play from the radio.

As the music played and as Tommy drove he would at times look at Kat napping comfortably in the passenger seat and he would just smile. Hell, if it weren't for the fact that he was driving the jeep he would have been happy to just stare at her all day.

A while later, Tommy turned onto Bullard Ave. and found Kat's apartment with no trouble.

"Kat, we're here." Tommy said once he parked the jeep.

Kat didn't answer. When Tommy turned towards her he saw her sleeping soundly on the reclined seat, her chest rising and falling as she breathed.

Tommy smiled as he gently tapped Katherine on her shoulder in an attempt to wake her up.

"Hmm?" Kat murmured as she blinked her sleepy eyes and saw a blurry vision of Tommy looking at her closely.

"We're already there?" She asked.

"Yeah," Tommy replied.

Kat smiled and her eyes closed once again as she fell back into a deep sleep.

_Man, she's really out._ Tommy thought to himself as he looked from Kat to the stair case that led up to where her apartment was. Making his decision Tommy then got out of his side of the jeep and then headed over to the passenger's side of the jeep. Once he opened the door he then unbuckled Katherine's seat belt and then slid his right arm under her legs and his left arm around her waist as he gently picked her up. Kat's arms instinctively went around Tommy's neck as he carried her out of the jeep, closed the door and headed up the stairs.

Once they got to Kat's front door Tommy pulled out a spare key that Kat had given him a few days ago out of his pocket and tried to unlock the door which was surprisingly easy.

Once he opened the door he then went inside, closed it, and carried Kat all the way to her bedroom where he gently laid her down on the bed. Kat sighed and blinked her eyes a little bit as she saw Tommy kneeling by the bed with what looked like a wistful look on his face, or at least that's what she thought it looked like.

"Hi, sleeping beauty." Tommy said as he gently brushed back a strand of blonde hair from Kat's face.

"Hi," Kat replied dreamily. "Are we…?"

"Yeah, we're in your apartment." Tommy answered. "You were pretty much out, so…I carried you over."

"Thanks," Kat said.

"No problem."

If the walls were giant magnets, they would not have been able to pull the two away any more than a hair's width, for it seemed that with every second Tommy and Kat couldn't (or wouldn't) seem to take their eyes off each other.

"I should…go." Tommy said a few minutes later, unconvincingly.

Though she was tired, Kat took her left hand and placed it over Tommy's left hand.

"Stay a while." She said, a look of longing in her blue eyes.

Tommy didn't say anything, but as he looked right into those sapphire pools he found that anything he would have said wouldn't have come out. So all he did was place his right hand over Kat's left one and smile brightly. Then as he got up Kat was almost afraid that he was going to leave but then when she saw him moving onto the bed she then moved aside so he could join her. Once Tommy was comfortable he then felt Kat moving alongside him, trying to snuggle as close to him as possible. Tommy then instinctively wrapped his right arm around Kat, and she snuggled against his right shoulder, feeling safe and happy as she hadn't been in a very long time.

Though a small part of Tommy's brain was asking as to what the hell he was doing, Tommy paid it no heed. While he wasn't sure as to why he was all of a sudden cuddling up with Kat in her apartment, in _her_ own room practically…for some reason, he didn't really care. In fact, it felt…right.

As he felt Kat's right hand encircle his left one, Tommy closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

And the late afternoon slept on.

--

How long he had slept Tommy didn't know, but when he woke up he saw from Kat's bedroom window that it was already night time.

His gaze then went to the clock on Kat's bedside table and the dial read 8:51 PM.

_I was asleep for four hours? Damn, I must have _really_ been bushed._

As he looked to his right he saw Kat still asleep, still tightly snuggled against him, her breathing practically hypnotizing him as she slept.

As much as he didn't want to wake her up (let alone leave), Tommy knew he had to get back to his house, so he reluctantly moved his arms away from Kat as he tried to get up from the bed.

He had just straightened his khakis jacket when he heard Kat's voice.

"Tommy?"

"Hey," Tommy said as he turned to Kat and smiled at her as she tried to focus her eyes.

"How long were we asleep?"

"I think it was about four hours according to the clock." Tommy replied as he ran a hand through his hair.

"So you have to head back, huh?"

"Yeah." Tommy said reluctantly.

Kat nodded slowly. "Oh yeah, just before I forget…" she then reached into her pocket and pulled out something before she handed it to Tommy.

When Tommy took a look at what she handed him he saw that it was the same kind of ticket that she had given to Conner.

"It was actually while I was setting aside some for you; Tanya, Adam; and Jason and Emily that I was able set aside some for your students. I wanted to give this to you earlier, but since we were busy, I sort of forgot, sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Tommy said assuringly as he pocketed the ticket. "Besides, you would have to hog-tie me to a million-pound weight to keep me from coming to see this."

Kat couldn't help but smile as she heard Tommy say that; inside, she was jumping up and down and screaming in delight.

"Well…I better get going." Tommy said.

"Oh, right." Kat said as she and Tommy walked to the door.

"Thanks for the ride Tommy." Kat said.

"Hey, anytime." Tommy replied sincerely.

Since she was standing so close to him Tommy was finding himself going into his eye-staring trance again. He quickly blinked a few times hoping to snap himself out of it. Fortunately, it worked.

"Well…good night, Kat."

"Good night, Tommy."

At that moment Tommy didn't know specifically why, but for some reason he then moved his head towards Kat's face and kissed her on her cheek. When he moved his face away he saw Kat looking at him with a light blush on her cheeks and a warm smile. Almost unconsciously Tommy took his left hand and stroked her cheek gently.

"Good night." Tommy said with a small, gentle smile as he gently stepped out through the doorway and outside the apartment. Kat closed it slowly as she saw him head down the hall and down the stairs. Once she closed the door Kat gently touched the side of her face where Tommy had kissed her and was suddenly feeling a lot more awake now than she was a few minutes ago, and much warmer.

--

_Okay, it's official. I really am a broken record._ Tommy thought for the sixteenth time as he stepped into his house, feeling like jumping three feet into the air but also feeling like he may have just breached a barrier of etiquette, though he wasn't exactly sure.

_Why the hell did I do that? Am I just wanting to jump the gun here or am I just insane?_

Despite the fact that he felt that maybe he shouldn't have kissed Kat on the cheek, Tommy had wanted to nonetheless, all cautions be damned.

_I mean, what if-okay, you know what Tommy, stop it with the what-ifs, just stop it, man._

Once again, his brain was just on too much emotional overload that Tommy almost wanted to bump his forehead on the wall repeatedly.

After he hung up his keys along with his jacket Tommy then collapsed on his bed, feeling more tired than before, but since his brain was emotionally full, he was teetering between sleepy and awake.

_And I still haven't gotten dinner yet._ He thought as he stared off into empty space as he looked up at the ceiling.

RING!

Sighing to himself, Tommy got up and headed for his portable phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"Bro, what's up?"

"Hi Jase," Tommy said. "How's it going?"

"Oh, not much over here." Jason replied. "Emily and I just got back from doing our Christmas shopping, and we were just getting finished with wrapping the gifts we bought."

"Kat told me she gave you guys tickets for the show tomorrow." Tommy pointed out.

"Yeah, she did. Well, actually during the week she had given them to Tanya, and then she in turn gave them to Rocky, Emily and myself."

"Cool."

"Yeah, so I'd say we're pretty much all set for tomorrow."

"That's good." Tommy said.

Though Tommy was appearing calm and somewhat fatigued, Jason could tell that there was something in the tone of his best friend's voice that said that there was something heavy on Tommy's mind.

"Bro, are you all right?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you sound a little bit…tense. Either that or there's something that's weighing pretty heavy on your mind."

Tommy tried to brush it off. "It's nothing, Jason."

"Oh, it isn't nothing, bro. Come on, what's eating you?"

Tommy sighed. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Hey, I don't care."

"Well, earlier today, after the last day for midterms let out, I went to the civic center to help Kat with the final preparations for the show tomorrow."

"Well, that was nice." Jason said.

"Yeah, so after we got done Kat and I headed to Hayley's for a bite. It wasn't anything serious, just me and her hanging out, talking, and playing foosball." Tommy answered. "Even though yeah, I ended up getting my ass handed to me a lot of times on that game (even with Ethan and Trent's help) we still had a good time."

"Oh, I would imagine." Jason mused. "So, what happened after that?"

"Well, after a while Kat wanted to head back to her place, so I gave her a ride back and Kat napped all the way there since she had gotten to the civic center early in the morning. Once we got to her apartment I saw that she was pretty much out, so…"

"So you pretty much swept her off her feet and carried her off in style to her apartment, even though she was napping, right?" Jason asked slyly.

"Bro, do you want me to explain this to you or not?" Tommy asked.

"Sorry man, couldn't help it." Jason apologized.

"Well, anyway, yeah, I did carry her to her apartment and once we were inside I laid her down on her bed so she could sleep. Right after which she then woke up a little bit and saw me, and…she asked me to stay for a little bit and so…I curled up next to her on the bed and we both napped."

"Well, well, well, looks like someone's finally taking some chances."

Tommy just smiled. "So a few hours later I woke up and I saw that it was getting late so sadly I had to get up. I tried not to wake Kat up, but that was impossible."

"Was that basically it?" Jason asked.

"Uhh-yeah."

"Tommy-"

Tommy sighed defeatedly. He knew he couldn't win this one. "Just before I left her apartment I…kissed her."

This almost made Jason fall out of his chair. "What!?" He asked with a very wide grin on his face. "You kissed her?"

"Yeah, I did. I mean, look, it was just a peck on the cheek, it wasn't anything serious."

_Bro, what the hell are you waiting for?_ "Well, at least it's a start."

"It's just that I don't know what I was thinking at time or if I was even thinking at all, but…I just wanted to."

Now it was Jason's turn to sigh. "Tommy, take it from a married person: When it comes to things like that, we don't think, we just feel."

"Easy for you to say." Tommy said sarcastically.

"Tommy, I'm being serious here." Jason replied. "Look, let me ask you a question: Did Kat look offended after you kissed her?"

"No."

"And do you regret kissing her?"

"NO."

"Then the way I see it, you didn't do anything wrong. But I think since a couple of weeks have gone by, don't you think maybe it's time you did yourself a favor and just tell Kat how you feel?"

Tommy felt like he had just been floored. "But…how…I mean…I didn't…"

"Tommy, with the way you are around her (or at least from what me, Emily, Adam and the others saw when we stopped by last week) and with the way you're acting right now, you really want to ask me how I know?" Jason asked rhetorically. "Now I don't know the whole nine yards between the two of you, but from what I've seen…I mean, if those moments don't prove what I've kind of suspected for the past few weeks now, then I don't know what does. Hell, I'm willing to bet that even your students can see it too."

Tommy sighed but he didn't say anything, for he knew that his best friend was right, and not just about one thing, but everything concerning his feelings for Kat. And he didn't even need to think about it all that much. The only reason (albeit a stupid one) he held himself back was because he wasn't completely sure if she felt the same way about him, even though the times he had spent with Kat had felt more than just friendly interactions.

_Either that or maybe I've just gotten too used to being on my own after all these years._

Knowing his friend was considering everything he told him Jason continued. "Tommy, I don't think it's really much of a question of how you feel about her, but I think the real question is are you going to step up to the plate and tell her or not? And considering the fact that Christmas ain't too far away…y' know, you couldn't really think of a better time."

"Jason, what am I supposed to do? I haven't dated since Kat and I had our last date before she left for London, and that was practically ten years ago. Unlike you and Adam with your respective ladies, I've pretty much been a hermit for most of the past decade. What could I possibly do? And even more important, what Christmas gift could I get her that would be special and yet…from my heart?"

_Bro, you _really_ have been a hermit for way too long. _"Tommy, I may have been married for several years now, but even _I_ don't know everything; and I'm _not_ gonna tell you what you should/shouldn't do, but I do think you owe it to yourself (and to her) to at least try. And speaking of gifts, I think whatever you get her would probably be great, especially since it would be from you. But if you think that's not going to work, then just basically ask yourself this question: What gift do you think you could give Katherine that would mean more to her than anything you could possibly get her from a store?"

Tommy stayed quiet, but it wasn't because he didn't know the answer, but it was because he probably already knew the answer.

"Just think about it, bro." Jason said helpfully.

After staying quiet for a while longer, Tommy spoke. "Thanks Jason."

"No problem." Jason replied.

"Jason, could you come here for a second?" Emily called from the living room.

"I'll be right there, honey." Jason called.

"Well, I'll let you get back." Tommy said.

"All right. Just think about what I said though, all right? And you know what, if nothing else, just go with it, follow your gut instincts, that much I _can_ tell you to do."

"All right, I'll…I'll think about it"

"All right. See you tomorrow Tommy."

"See ya." Tommy replied as he hung up.

After putting the phone back on the charger Tommy spent a long while staring up at the ceiling completely lost in thought, thinking about the talk he and Jason had and what Jason had said. Almost instinctively he then reached into his pocket and pulled out the ticket that Kat had given him earlier and looked at it for a while.

"_What gift do you think you could give Katherine that would mean more to her than anything you could possibly get her from a store?"_

As he then turned his gaze away from the ticket Tommy then grew thoughtful, then when he looked at the ticket again a small smile began to spread across his face as he then realized what he had to do.

--

AN: Now I don't know if I went over the top with the Jason/Tommy talk or not, but what I wanted to try and do in that scene is to have Tommy strip away that emotional armor and just lay out how he feels about Katherine (even though yeah, Jason pointed it all out for him) and his fear that he might be putting his foot in his mouth. Of course, he really isn't, but since he hasn't really dated since Kat left for London, and he had pretty much buried himself up to his eyeballs in paleontology work, well…okay, if you really want a sense of what I'm talking about, put yourself in Tommy's shoes and imagine not dating at all for ten years straight. Maybe that might give you a little bit of some insecurity, maybe it might not, but that was more or less the emotion that I was trying to put in that scene.

Oh, and also, I saw "King for a day" just an hour ago, and let me tell you, if that 2-part episode (along with "No business like snow business") doesn't show you the depth of selfless love that Katherine has for Tommy (which feels more like adult-love than teen-love to me), then I don't know what will. Now I know DT may have complicated things a little bit, but even in spite of that, I don't think Tommy and Kat will end up together, I _know_ they do.


	10. I'm dreaming of a ballerina

Chapter 10-I'm dreaming of a Ballerina

_All right, let's give it one final whirl…_

Tommy then sat back down in his seat of the main computer and re-activated the scanning system so it could do one final scan of the city before he turned it off and headed upstairs. Now granted, this was actually going to be the twelfth time he did this today, but Tommy didn't want to take any chances that Mesogog might try to do a last-minute attack on the city just before he headed over to the civic center to see the Nutcracker show tonight, even though it was only 3:31 in the afternoon and the show didn't start until 5:30.

At first a CG map of Reefside along with the words "SCANNING…" were the only things on the screen, but then after a few seconds an image of a section of the city appeared on the screen. Then after a minute or two another one appeared, followed by another one and then another. Once there were eight images on the screen the words "Scanning complete. No Dark energies detected." appeared.

_Well, since it's already the twelfth time it's been saying this, should I really be surprised?_ Tommy thought sarcastically with a sigh.

He then de-activated the scanning system and shut off the mainframe (minus the backup systems). After he was done Tommy then snuck a peak at his watch and saw that it was 3:47.

_Well, may as well start getting ready now._ He thought as he got up and made his way up the stairs to his living room and to his bathroom to take a shower.

--

A while later, Tommy stepped out towel-drying his hair as he opened his closet to find some clothes to wear to the show.

_Well, it's not like I'm going to a prom, but hey, just because it isn't doesn't mean you can't look cool and casual at the same time._

He towel-dried his hair one more time before putting it on a chair so it could air out before he reached for a casual long-sleeve black T-shirt and khakis pants. Once he put them on he then combed his hair and then grabbed his wallet and keys before heading out the door to his jeep. Once he got in he then checked his pockets to make sure he had everything.

_All right, locked door…check. Keys…check. Ticket…?_

Though everything he had he could feel inside his pockets, Tommy couldn't feel his ticket inside them. Thinking that he wasn't checking properly Tommy took out his wallet and keys to check his pockets thoroughly to make sure he had the ticket Kat gave him. Much to his dismay, it wasn't in any of them.

_Great. Where the hell did I put that thing?_

Sighing heavily to himself Tommy stepped out of his jeep and stomped back to his house as he tried to retrace his steps.

_Okay…I had put the ticket in my pocket right after Kat gave it to me. And then…_

No sooner did he try to re-trace his steps did he find himself stuck as he tried to remember what happened after that.

…_and then things get fuzzy after that._

He then put his left hand to his forehead as he racked his brain to figure out where he had placed the ticket after he got home.

_But come on, it's just a small place of paper, how hard could it be to lose one measly ticket?_

Sighing once again, Tommy swallowed his pride as he then looked at his watch again. Even more to his dismay, the time said 4:18.

_Y' know, at this rate, it'll be 5:30 and I'll still be here looking for this thing._

--

"Dude,"

That thought was pretty much swirling through Conner and his friend's minds as Conner maneuvered his Mustang through the surprisingly heavy traffic as they entered the parking lot of the civic center and tried to find a spot to park. As they looked, they saw a lot of people head from their cars to the civic center's entrance. It wasn't in droves necessarily, but it was still a lot of people.

"This is definitely one hell of a turnout." Trent mused as he looked outside.

"You can say that again." Kira said in agreement.

"Conner, over there." Ethan said as he pointed to an area of grass that was to the right of the car.

Conner saw where Ethan was pointing to and turned the Mustang in that direction.

"Well, it looks like we got here not a second too soon." Conner mused.

"Are you guys sure we should park here?" Kira asked once they parked and stepped out of the car.

"The other parking spaces are already taken." Conner replied. "Besides, this is probably about as good of a parking space as we're going to get, so unless you guys see any better ones…"

Kira, Trent, and Ethan looked around and saw that there really weren't any other spots to park, or at least spots that were close to the civic center. Plus, judging by the looks of things, they probably wouldn't get a better parking spot anyway if they were to go someplace else in the area.

"So, do we wait outside or…?"

Conner was about to answer Ethan's question when the group heard a nearby honk and saw what looked like an Eclipse heading towards the spot next to them, followed by a Lamborghini.

The four teens' eyes narrowed questioningly and they looked at each other blankly. Who would honk at them if it wasn't their teacher?

Once the two cars parked right by the Mustang Conner and the others saw the doors open and once the people stepped out of them the foursome recognized them immediately.

"What's up, guys?" Jason asked as he, Emily, and the others walked up to the group.

"Oh, nothing much." Conner answered as he shook hands with Jason, Emily, Adam, Tanya, and Rocky while his friends did likewise.

"Did you guys just get here?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah. Actually it was just a few seconds before you guys showed up." Kira replied.

"Wow, so all those people heading into the civic center are the ones that also want to see this show?" Adam asked as he gestured towards the people heading in.

"Looks like it." Trent replied. "And that's probably not even counting the people that are already inside."

"No doubt about that." Ethan said.

"Well then, come on! Let's get inside before all the good seats are taken." Rocky said.

"Wait, hold on. We still have to wait for Dr. O to get here." Conner said.

"You mean Tommy's not here yet?" Jason asked.

"No, actually we thought he was with you guys." Ethan said.

"No. If anything I thought he would have already been here with all of you." Jason replied.

"What time is it?" Kira asked.

Tanya looked at her watch. "It's five on the dot."

Conner sighed. "All right, then let's wait for him for five more minutes, if he still doesn't get here, well…then we'll just have to go in without him." He said.

HONK-HONK!

As soon as the group heard the sound of a honking horn they turned around and saw a jeep heading in their direction. As it got close the jeep then made a right turn and parked in the vacant space next to Tanya's Lamborghini. No sooner did Tommy park his jeep did he then literally jump out of his seat and head up to where the others were.

"Tommy, are you all right, man?" Rocky asked.

"Oh, trust me, since I found _this_, I am now." Tommy replied as he reached into his pocket and held up his ticket in front of his friends.

"Good grief, you look like you're all out of breath, what happened?" Emily asked.

Tommy took a few deep breaths before he replied. "I misplaced my ticket, _that's_ what happened."

"So while you were looking for it your bad memory chose to just kick in, didn't it?" Rocky joked.

Tommy sighed. "Well, I guess that's one way of putting it." He replied. "But still, misplaced ticket or not, I wasn't about to miss this."

"Oh, of course, because _Katherine's_ involved in this." Rocky said slyly which made Conner and Ethan chuckle in agreement.

Tommy didn't say anything, but a small blush spread up his face as he glared at his friend.

"Rocky…you know what, just can it, man. Seriously, just can it."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Rocky said as he stopped joking around, though he still kept his grin on. "But hey, I'm just tellin' it like it is."

Tommy sighed as he tried not to grin and failed horribly. "All right, now is everybody here?"

Everyone in the group nodded.

"All right then, let's get inside."

--

The inside of the civic center was packed, with people settling into seats that were divided into three sets of fifteen chairs and into seven columns per set so there would hopefully be enough seating for everyone. Some people were also accepting programs from a few girls (who were in the show, of course) that were up by the front doors. Once it said 5:20 on the clock Linda and Jessica would then fill in for them for the last few minutes before they closed the doors and the girls could then head backstage to prepare for the show.

The challenge for Tommy and his friends and protégés wasn't really in getting inside; it was in being able to find seats for everybody. So the group wasn't able to find seats where they could all sit together necessarily, but they were however, able to find seating where they would be comfortable and they would still have a good enough view.

So in the end the group was able to find seating in the third set of chairs which was to the right of the building facing the stage: Tommy sat in the last seat of the front row; Trent and Kira sat three seats to the right of him; Conner, Ethan, and Rocky were in the second row behind them; Jason and Emily were behind in the third row and four seats to the right, and Tanya and Adam were just two seats away from them.

"What 'cha got there?" Kira asked Trent as she noticed what looked like a brochure in his hand.

"Oh, it's a program I got up front while we were heading in."

"Cool. So are all the acts in there or…?"

"I'm not really sure." Trent replied. "But if I'm reading this right, and if I know my Nutcracker history a little bit I'd say we're still going to be seeing the major parts, but a few acts here and there…I don't know, but I think Kat and the others might have cut some stuff out."

"Well, she did say that since she and the other teachers were pressed for time they were going to rehearse the major acts first and then if there was still some extra time they would try to rehearse some of the minor ones." Kira said. "Oh yeah, what do you mean by, 'If I know my nutcracker history'?"

Trent glanced around for a moment before he put his hand over his mouth somewhat and whispered in her ear.

"I used to read the story at nauseam when I was a little kid. That, plus the fact that I was in a small version of this play years ago in elementary school where I was one of the toy soldiers."

Kira smiled and giggled lightly as she pictured Trent dancing in a toy soldier's outfit, which she couldn't help but find slightly funny…and cute.

"Oh come on, it's not _that_ funny."

"Oh, it's not that at all." Kira said good-naturedly. "In fact, it's actually kind of cute."

Trent smiled. "Thanks." He said with a light blush.

As the lights dimmed everyone began to quiet down as the show was about to commence.

Linda then stepped out from the curtain and with a headset on, she then began to address the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming." Linda said. "We have a wonderful show for all of you tonight that me and my teaching staff have been working on for the past couple of weeks. It is our rendition of the well-known Christmas ballet, 'The Nutcracker'. Doing this was indeed a labor of love for me and my team, as well as our students despite the time constraints that we had. But all in all, I hope that the performance tonight is something that all of you will like. Well, without further ado, I present to you 'The Nutcracker'. Enjoy the show, everyone."

The audience clapped for a bit as Linda bowed curtly, turned around, and then entered the curtain which signaled the start of the show.

A few seconds later the curtains opened up in all their entirety, revealing a beautifully done makeshift living room with a big Christmas tree in the middle. Suddenly male and female dancers then appeared and then Tchaikovsky's all too familiar music kicked in, which the dancers then got into position as they had been shown in the past few weeks. From then on, it was all "Ballet instinct", as Kat had put it best to her students while they had been training.

As the dancers danced Conner's eyes went from dancer to dancer, hoping that Krista was among those on stage. Sadly none of the female dancers on the stage were her, which surprised him.

_I don't get it. If Krista's playing the lead character, then shouldn't she already be up there with everybody else?_

But then once he saw a girl and a guy appear from the makeshift door of the living room he then recognized Krista right away, and no sooner did she begin her dancing did Conner suddenly find himself completely and utterly entranced.

The next few scenes were pretty much regular ballet dance routines, but then once the show got to the Toy/Mice battle scene, that's when things got very cool, or at least in Conner, Ethan, Rocky, Jason, and Tommy's point of view.

Then after the fight, the show then cut to where the Nutcracker turned into a prince in front of "Marie's" eyes. Conner felt a small twinge of jealousy for a brief moment as he saw the young man take Krista's right hand, but then it quickly passed.

When it got to Act II and to where Marie and the Nutcracker prince arrived in the Land of Sweets and met the Sugar Plum Fairy Tommy's eyes widened and a warm smile crossed his face, for the woman playing the Sugar Plum Fairy was none other than Katherine herself.

The "Divertissement" then followed suit, with each of the dances taking place one after the other respectively. However, the dances were shorter than the originals and the main reason why had been that Linda had found during rehearsal that though they were nearing completion, they didn't have enough time to rehearse the "Divertissement" dances fully, so she told Kat, Jessica, and Victoria (as well as their dance students) to do short versions of the "Chocolate", "Coffee", "Tea", "Trepak", "Dance of the toy flutes", and "The Clown" dances. So even though everyone was seeing shorter versions of the dances, they were no less graceful and fluid as the fuller, uncut versions of the dances.

When the Final Waltz/Apotheosis had ended everyone just got up and clapped and cheered loudly (Tommy and Conner cheering the loudest). Once Kat, Krista and the other dance students stepped out and gave the audience a bow the applause got a little louder.

After Kat bowed she then looked at the audience hoping to see her friends…and Tommy among the people there. As she looked at the sets of chairs that were to the right and to the middle she didn't recognize anyone there, but then when she looked to her left where the third set was the very first familiar face she saw was none other than Tommy himself, who had a deep, warm smile across his face and his eyes were looking directly at her affectionately as he clapped as vigorously as he could. Plus she also saw Trent and Kira; along with Rocky, Ethan, and Conner; Jason and Emily; and Adam and Tanya; who were either clapping or whistling very loudly. Or just both.

Kat then felt her heart grow warm as she then smiled back at Tommy and at all her friends as they clapped and cheered until they could clap and cheer no more.

--

Tommy was waiting out by the lobby when Kat came out of the makeshift auditorium, having already changed back into her regular clothes and carrying her gym bag across her shoulder.

"Say, isn't that the best ballet dancer on the face of the earth?" Tommy asked in a grandiose voice.

Kat then turned to where the voice was and saw Tommy leaning comfortably against the wall nearby. She smiled warmly as she slung back the strap on her gym bag and walked up to him, though she was trying very hard not to want to run to him, put her arms around him and hold him tightly.

"Well, I wouldn't say _the_ best, but…"

"Are you kidding me? You were amazing back there."

Kat blushed at the compliment. "Thanks Tommy."

"You're welcome." Tommy replied with a smile.

"Y' know, I admit, part of me was almost afraid you wouldn't show."

"Kat, believe me, this is something I wouldn't have missed for the world."

Kat blushed again and smiled at Tommy, who in turn smiled back at her.

"Come on. Everybody's waiting outside." Tommy said as he and Katherine headed for the main front doors of the civic center, where Tanya, Adam, Trent, Kira, and the others were waiting.

--

"Now I don't know about you guys, but that was an awesome show, just…simply awesome." Conner remarked to the group as they stood outside on the stair steps that led to the entrance to the civic center.

"Was it awesome because you actually liked the dances themselves, or was it because you saw Krista up there and you only wished _you_ were the nutcracker prince instead of the dude that was up there with her?" Ethan asked half-jokingly.

Conner didn't answer, but as Ethan saw his friend look off into empty space a bit and sigh he knew what the answer was.

As Conner tried to look off into the distance he then turned back in the direction of the doors and saw Krista coming out of the doors with a gym bag across her shoulder.

"Hang on a second, guys, I'll be right back." Conner said as he went in Krista's direction.

"Where's he going?" Tanya asked.

"Oh, just…over there." Ethan said sarcastically as he gestured towards Krista.

"Wait, isn't that the same girl that we saw playing the lead lady?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah." Kira said.

"Well, what do you know?" Jason mused.

"Krista!" Conner called out.

"Oh, hi Conner."

"Hi."

"So I take it you saw the whole thing?" Krista asked.

"Yeah, I did." Conner replied. "Y' know, I'm not one to usually see these shows, but this one…it really delivered, it really did." He said with a smile.

Krista blushed and smiled back. "Thanks Conner." She said. "By the way, who are those guys over there?" She asked as she motioned towards Jason, Adam and the others.

"Oh, they're old friends of Miss Hillard and Dr. O." Conner replied. "When they heard that Miss Hillard was going to be in this show they asked her if maybe she could get them some tickets so they could come see it."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I've met them before, and I gotta tell you, they're really awesome people." _In more ways than one._

"Hi guys."

As soon as the group (including Conner and Krista) heard Kat's voice they all turned around and saw Kat and Tommy coming out of the doors and heading where they were. Conner then headed back over to where the group was with Krista right behind him.

"And here's our ballet dancer/teacher of the hour." Tanya said grandiosely which made Kat just shrug humbly.

"Y' know Kat, I have to say, that was definitely one hell of a show." Emily said sincerely.

"That makes two of us." Jason said.

"Actually, I think you might want to make that _all_ of us." Kira said.

"So I take it all of you enjoyed it?" Kat asked.

"Oh, yeah." Replied the four teens.

"Y' know, I may not know anything about ballet, but from what _I_ saw tonight…that was one sweet show." Ethan said.

"And also, the way it was done…even during the moments where there wasn't really much action going on, it was still pretty interesting." Trent said.

"I'll second that." Conner said as he smiled at Krista.

"Well, I'm really glad you guys liked it." Kat said.

"Well hey, the night's still young, why don't we all go to Hayley's for a bite?" Rocky suggested.

The group looked at each other, then they all nodded in agreement.

"Krista, you want to come along?" Conner asked.

"I have to…actually, you know what? Count me in."

"All right, then let's do it." Tommy said.

"Good, because I am starving." Rocky said as he patted his stomach.

"That makes two of us, Rocky." Conner said as the group then headed for their cars to Hayley's Cyberspace.

--

"Well, I gotta say, this has definitely been one incredible night." Tommy said as he and Kat made their way up the steps to Kat's apartment later that evening.

"I'm really glad you liked the show." Kat said with a smile.

"Hey, it's like I said before, I wouldn't have missed this for anything." Tommy replied as he smiled back at her.

For the next couple of moments there was a little bit of an awkward silence between the two as they arrived in front of the door to Kat's apartment.

"So I guess I'll…see you tomorrow?" Kat asked nervously.

"Uh-yeah." Tommy replied, wanting to say more but unconsciously holding his tongue.

_Come on man, ask her!_

"Okay."

Kat had reached for her keys and was about to unlock her door when Tommy spoke up.

"Kat, wait."

"What is it Tommy?"

_Come on, do it!_

"Tommy, what is it?"

"Kat, there's something that I want to ask you, and if I don't say it now I probably might not be able to later."

_Or at least not without probably stammering every two seconds._

"What is it?" Kat asked again. _Is he…?_

_Just say it, you moron!_ Tommy's head yelled.

"I was wondering…if maybe you would like to have dinner with me sometime this week."

"Really?" Kat asked, her smile widening.

Tommy nodded gently. "Yeah, I mean, if you don't want to I understan-"

"I'd love to." Kat answered, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Okay, great." Tommy said, inwardly breathing out a sigh of relief.

"When could we do it?"

"Well, I was thinking Christmas Eve but since Hayley decided to switch the day of her Christmas party from the 21st to _that_ day…how about the 23rd?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." Kat replied.

"Okay, good." Tommy said as he almost lost himself in Kat's eyes yet again. "Well, in that case I'll…see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

Kat blushed lightly as she slowly unlocked the door. Once she opened it she then stepped in and looked back at Tommy who was smiling at her.

"Good night Tommy."

"Good night Kat."

After she closed the door Kat then leaned back against it as she tried hard not to just scream in delight.

Tommy, meanwhile, kept looking back in the direction of Kat's apartment as he headed back to his jeep, all the while trying not to jump ten feet straight into the air and yell out "YES!" at the top of his lungs.


	11. A gift from the heart

AN: This one actually took me longer to do because I had to go back and take a look at some of my past chapters to see if they were okay. And as usual Purple Stobe, you were right yet again. After I had read Ch. 10 a couple of times I wasn't exactly happy with it myself, so I went back and gave Chapter 10 a little bit of an overhaul. Hopefully it's better now than it was before. So before you guys read this chapter read (or re-read) Chapter 10 first!

--

Chapter 11-A gift from the heart

"_I'm happy…I'm happy with you. Not memories of Kim or far-fetched dreams of her, just you. And how much I've come to…love you."_

-Tommy

From "In his arms" by Vespera

--

Tommy adjusted the pot of his plant a little bit towards the sun's direction as he then took a water can from the small table in the middle of his living room and watered it.

_Winter or not, even these babies need water._ He thought as he walked over to another nearby plant and repeated the same process. Once he was done Tommy then put away his can and reclined on his sofa, taking in the few Christmas decorations he had put up. They weren't much, but with a Christmas tree in a corner of the living room, a wreath hanging on the door, and a Christmas tablecloth with placemats, Tommy was about as ready as he could be.

_Even though yeah, me, my students, Hayley, and Kat are pretty much the only ones here anyway, but still…_

As soon as he thought Kat's name Tommy then smiled lightly and thought back to a few nights ago when he, Kat, and pretty much all their friends were at the cyber café just talking, laughing, and having a good time.

Many were the times that Tommy would see her laugh along with everyone else at some joke Rocky or Conner would make or sometimes catch a glance at him and smile…

RING!

Tommy snapped out of his trance just as the phone blared from his kitchen. Hoping that it might be Kat he quickly leaped off the couch and hurried to the kitchen to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Tommy, hi!"

"Oh, hi mom." Tommy replied, a little disappointed that it wasn't Kat on the other end but still happy that it was his family at least. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going pretty well. But hey, it's Christmas Eve, why wouldn't it be?"

"That's for sure."

"So how have you been? Your father and I haven't heard from you since Thanksgiving."

"Well, I've been…pretty busy over here." Tommy replied.

"Well, I suppose between decorating your house, putting the final grades in for your class, and showing Katherine around town…yeah, I'd say you would've found plenty to keep you busy." Mrs. Oliver said which caused her adopted son to blush. Weeks ago, after Tommy dropped Kat off after having their belated Thanksgiving party he had called his folks to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Originally he would have gone over to celebrate along with them, but sadly they were staying with his uncle (on his mother's side) in Arizona, and it was just too far for him to make the trip, much as he wouldn't have minded doing so. While he was talking to his folks Tommy had revealed that Kat was now living in Reefside which caused his dad to nearly choke on his root beer, but once he composed himself Mr. Oliver was pretty much ruthless in his teasing and asking his son almost the same questions that Conner and his friends were asking him when they confronted him about him disappearing while they had been battling Elsa and Felectro.

"And speaking of Katherine, how's she doing?"

"Oh, she's doing pretty good." Tommy replied. "She's gotten a little more settled in here, plus according to her the teaching job she has at the local dance school is going great, so…in all, she's doing great."

"Oh, that's good. So…since it's the holidays do you have anything special planned for you and her?" Mrs. Oliver asked.

"Um, well, I guess you could say that." Tommy replied. "I had asked her a few days ago if she would like to have dinner sometime this week, and…she said yes."

"Well that's great! That's excellent!" Mrs. Oliver said. "Is there someplace you two are going to eat or…"

"Well, at first I was thinking Olive Garden, and then I thought maybe Outback Steakhouse, but then the next day, she and I were talking and Kat wondered if we could use her apartment instead. It's not too fancy, yet it's nice and…"

"… hopefully romantic?" Mrs. Oliver supplied.

"Yeah. Well, I'm hoping anyway."

"Well, I hope it goes well for you two."

"Thanks, mom."

"You're still going to make it home for Christmas day, right?" Mrs. Oliver asked.

"Definitely." Tommy replied.

"All right, great. Oh, and if Katherine wants to come along, she's more than welcome to."

"Thanks mom."

"Well, I think I'll let you get back to your preparing and whatnot." Mrs. Oliver said. "But again, I really hope things go well for you tonight. And tell Kat I said hi."

"I will. Give my love to dad, all right?"

"Will do Tommy." Mrs. Oliver said. "We'll see you Christmas Day night."

"Count on it, mom." Tommy replied. "Bye."

After he put the phone down Tommy then stood in his living room for a while, wondering if there was anything else that needed to be done. Seeing as how there wasn't he then snuck a peak at his watch which said 2:15…

--

"_So are we still up for the 23__rd__?" Kat asked._

"_Oh yeah, definitely." Tommy replied. "What time should I come by?"_

"_What time do you think will be good for you?"_

"_Well, how about 5:30?"_

"_Okay, 5:30 it is."_

"_Great."_

--

Not wanting to waste anymore time Tommy quickly headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was done he then gelled his hair a bit, and then looked through his drawers and his closet trying to find some clothes to wear. Since he was going to Kat's apartment he wanted to look his best, but he didn't want to look over the top.

After looking through his closet for a while Tommy ultimately decided on a long-sleeve navy blue polo shirt and jeans. He was just getting through putting his shirt on when the phone rang again.

"Hello?" Tommy answered once he picked it up.

"Tommy, hi. It's me, Katherine."

"Oh hi Kat."

"Listen, I really don't mean to sound like a pain, but we are still up for tonight, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Tommy replied sincerely. "I'm actually getting ready right now so I'll be there soon as soon as I can."

"Oh good."

"Yeah, I just need to stop by someplace first to pick up something and then I'll be on my way there."

"Okay," Kat said, already inwardly feeling giddy. "I'll see you then."

"See you in a while, Kat." Tommy said as he hung up his bedroom phone and took a look at himself in the mirror.

_Well…can't go wrong with this. Or at least I hope I don't._ Tommy said as he took some Nautica cologne and sprayed some on himself. Then he went and picked up his keys before heading out the door to his jeep and taking off.

--

As Tommy was on his way to Kat's apartment, Kat was busy trying to get everything ready.

Though she wasn't a stranger to cooking dinner for more people besides herself (many had been the times in London where she and some of her roommates would do so) this was the first time she was doing one on an occasion that could almost be…

_Katherine, come on. Don't be ridiculous, it's_ not _a date. It's just…dinner. Now granted, it's with…Tommy, but that still doesn't specifically make it…a date._

Despite the fact that her head was telling her all this, her heart wasn't believing any of it for a second, and she knew it.

Shortly after she had called Tommy Kat had headed straight for Publix to get the things she needed for the dinner. Once she got back part of her worried that Tommy had already gotten there. Much to her relief, he wasn't. So she quickly got to her apartment and then unpacked the things she bought and with her CD playing softly inside her small radio, she got right to work.

As she was busy seasoning the turkey Kat would at times look at the clock on her stove and hope that Tommy would be just a tad bit late, and it wasn't because the dinner wasn't ready, it was because she was wearing an apron along with her white t-shirt and blue overalls, and she wanted to be wearing something nice for him tonight, even though she knew Tommy could care less if he saw her wearing overalls or not.

Once she was done seasoning she then placed the turkey on the bottom rack of the oven (which she had already set the temp earlier) and then set the timer for 1 hr. and 45 min.

_Well, that takes care of the hard part at least._

Seeing that Tommy hadn't arrived yet and since there was still time before the turkey was done Kat took off her apron, placed it on the counter near the sink and headed to her room to change when all of a sudden the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" She called out.

"It's me, Tommy."

Once she heard Tommy's voice Kat's eyes widened, and she quickly looked at her stove clock and saw that it was only 3:41.

_He's here already?_ Kat thought as she then looked at her shirt and overalls. Throwing caution to the wind Kat sighed and unlocked the door.

Once she opened it Kat then saw Tommy standing in front of the doorway with his left arm behind his back and looking as handsome as ever. Kat felt her mouth go slightly dry as she tried her best not to blush and failed miserably.

"Hi." Tommy said gently.

"Hi," Kat replied, still semi-entranced.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh, o-of course." Kat said as she stepped to the side a bit so Tommy could enter the apartment.

"Oh yeah, before I forget-" Tommy said as he pulled his arm from behind his back, revealing a bouquet of carnations tightly bundled together. "These are for you."

"Oh Tommy, they're beautiful." Kat said as she took the bouquet. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Tommy replied. "For a while I wasn't sure whether to get the roses or the carnations while I was at Reefside Florist, but…"

Kat smiled. "Tommy, believe me, these are great." She said as she took the bundle and placed them in an empty vase she had in the cupboard.

"So…how's it coming along?" Tommy asked as he joined her in the kitchen.

"Oh, I just put in the turkey so it'll be a while before that's done." Kat replied. "But fortunately though everything else (food-wise anyway) is pretty much all set."

"Is there anything I can do?" Tommy asked.

"Well, right now everything's pretty good." Kat said. "Listen, I'll be right back. I just have to go to my room for a second."

"Oh, okay, sure." Tommy said. "I'll just…hang out by the living room."

"Okay." Kat said as she then headed to her bedroom while Tommy took the chance to take a look around. Needless to say, he was impressed. From the time he and the others first saw the apartment to now, the place had definitely undergone a massive change. There was now a sofa in the living room facing a Samsung TV set that Tommy had helped her get along with a small table in the middle. In addition, there were also a few paintings of the beach around some of the walls along with some lava lamps in the corners. Plus the kitchen had a few small touches here and there that Kat had done since Tommy and the others helped her fix the place up.

As Tommy turned his head he then noticed a big picture hanging on the wall by the hallway. Curious he moved closer to take a better look and he saw that it was a picture of himself, Kat, Billy, Adam, Tanya, Rocky, and Jason hanging out by Ernie's beach front café.

_Man,_ Tommy thought to himself. _Where does the time go?_

"Like the photo?"

Tommy turned around at the sound of Kat's voice and when he saw her, his eyes widened and his jaw almost dropped open. She was standing by the hallway dressed in a pink tank dress which looked similar to one he had seen her wearing many years ago, with her hair falling loosely around her face.

_Wow._ "Uh-yeah." Tommy said as he tried to snap himself out of it. "Y' know, I forgot that this picture was even taken."

"Yeah, I was sorting through some of the things I had gotten when U-Haul came by with some of my things-remember?-and I found the picture among some of my paraphernalia. I didn't want to leave it in its bubble wrap so I took it out, and while I was looking for someplace to hang it I figured this area here would be a good place to put it."

"Good place." Tommy mused as he looked at the photo again. "Good times."

"You can say that again." Kat said as she unconsciously placed her arm on his shoulder.

As soon as he felt Kat's touch Tommy then looked from the photo to Kat, smiling at her gently as he looked directly in her eyes. Kat for her part couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from him any more than he could.

BEEP!

"What's that?" Tommy asked as he and Kat turned at the sound.

"Oh, it's just the oven." Kat replied as they both headed for the kitchen where Kat then looked at the timer. "When it beeps once, it just means that a half hour went by."

"Already?" Tommy asked, perplexed.

"I think so. Unless the timer's extremely fast or something."

"So that makes it one hour and fifteen minutes to go?"

"Looks like it." Kat replied as she looked at the timer again.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I am starting to feel kind of hungry already."

"Me too."

"So are there any appetizers we can have?"

"Actually, yes, there is." Kat said with a smile. "I was able to make some salad and some bread, so if you want, while we're waiting, we can have those."

"Okay, sure." Tommy agreed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, if you're able to…do you think you can set the table while I get everything ready?"

"Yeah, definitely."

So Tommy went to work getting the silverware, plates, and napkins out and ready while Katherine was getting the salad and bread ready on her end. Once she was done preparing them she then looked at the oven's timer and saw that it was forty-six minutes until the turkey was done so she then took a tray that had some ham in it and placed it on the oven's top rack. She had just finished placing the salad bowl down and was just about to go back to the kitchen counter and get the bread when she saw Tommy light a match and light the two candles that were on the table.

Tommy saw her looking in his direction and smiled. "They were…right there so…"

"Oh that's fine." Kat said as she came back with the bread. "Well, I have to say, not too shabby, Doctor Oliver." She said as she saw the set table.

"Thanks Kat." Tommy replied. "But you know, you did pretty good yourself."

"Thanks." Kat said. "Well Dr. Oliver, your table is now ready."

"Ladies first?" Tommy offered.

"Oh, don't worry, it's all right. Please, be seated."

"Not unless you sit first." Tommy insisted.

So Kat took a seat with Tommy helping her in. Once she was sitting down Tommy took his seat opposite her side of the table.

"So how have your students been?" Kat asked as she put some salad on her plate along with a slice of bread.

"Oh, they're doing pretty good." Tommy replied as he took the bowl Kat offered him once she was done and put some salad on his plate. "I haven't spoken to them in a few days, but I know they have their own lives, as well as their own families to have the holidays with so…"

Kat nodded.

Oh yeah, speaking of which, did you get the chance to talk to your folks?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I've actually called them a few times since I moved here. You know, to let them know how I was doing, and of course to wish them Happy Thanksgiving and now Christmas. They were a little surprised to learn that I ended up heading back here to America, but they gave me their support nonetheless and wished me the best of luck."

"Did you tell them that I was living here too?"

"Yeah, I did." Kat replied.

"What did they say?"

"Well, my dad asked me if I had already known before moving that you lived here. I told him no and that it had only been _after_ I got here that I found that you lived here as well."

"Mmm." Tommy mused.

"But as for my mum, she was surprised too, but her reaction was a little more lighter than my father's."

"What happened?"

"Well, without going into too much detail…let's just say teasing-wise, she was _ruthless_, especially when I told her about tonight."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but like I said before, they wished me the best and mum had asked me to tell you that she said hi."

"Thanks. Tell her I said the same likewise when you talk to her again."

"I will."

--

(Forty-five minutes later)

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Well, looks like it's ready." Kat said as she got up from the table with Tommy getting up right behind her.

"May I-?" Tommy asked as he saw Kat open the oven door to retrieve the turkey.

Touched, Kat handed him the gloves to use. Once Tommy put them on he then gently pulled the bottom rack out, then he reached for the tray with the turkey and took it out with ease. Once she saw him take the turkey out Kat then put on some spare kitchen gloves and pushed the bottom rack back in place before she pulled the top rack out so she could take the ham out.

"Now," Kat said. "Dinner is truly served."

--

"It's official; I _really_ need to learn how to cook, or at least more so than what I've been doing before." Tommy said after they finished eating.

Kat smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Are you kidding me? The dinner was great."

"Thanks."

Tommy blushed a little bit and bowed his head a little bit before looking back at her. "You're welcome."

For a while the two stayed that way looking at each other from across the table until Katherine, between looking at her hands to looking at Tommy finally pulled herself out of her reverie and reached for some of the empty plates.

"Well, I'll get these out of the way…"

"Well y' know, I can wash the dishes for you if you want." Tommy offered as they got up from the table.

"Oh it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. But if you still want to help…"

So Tommy and Kat took the plates they used and put them all in the right part of the double sink. Any leftover food that was still in them was taken out and put in a plastic bag which would be placed in the freezer. Tommy took care of washing the dishes and bowls while Kat placed them on the sink's left side.

"Y' know, sometimes I wonder how I was even able to eat a decent meal back in my grad school years." Tommy mused once they finished. "I really don't know how I did it, I really don't."

"Were you still in California at the time or were you out of state?" Kat asked.

"I was out of state." Tommy replied as they headed for the living room and sat down on the sofa. "Y' know, I look back on it now and I'm glad that I was in my early twenties when I started my grad school studies because if I was to go back _now_, I probably wouldn't have had the energy for those long study hours that I did." Tommy said as he remembered staying up until 2:30 AM studying feverishly for one of his courses.

"Y' know Tommy, there's something I've been wondering."

"What is it?"

"Well…what _really_ made you go into paleontology specifically? I mean, I remember you were very big into cars and racing in your senior year."

Tommy sighed. Though he and Kat had talked about it a little bit while they were at Wal-Mart weeks ago getting the fruitcake for Hayley's party, he didn't tell her everything.

"I guess you could say that it got started really after we passed on the power. Summer hadn't ended yet, and…you had already left for London." Tommy said. "I was in my uncle's stock car garage one day just thinking about a whole lot of stuff, not really about what courses I was going to take for the fall at Angel Grove U (since I already had my mind made up to go into automotive science), but everything else." He then smiled brightly at Kat before he looked down towards his hand.

"But going back to before, I went to AGU, and then after two years of being there, I sort of found myself at a…I don't know if you could call it a crossroads, but I was just at a point where I wasn't sure if going into automotive science was what I wanted to do. So I just stuck to doing general studies for a while. Then during one summer when I went to go see my grandfather up in northern California I had heard from my cousin that there was a dig going on not too far from home and whether I wanted to go check it out. I was pretty much bored out of my mind, so I thought, _Why not?_ and I went to the dig. Now I don't know if it was because I saw an actual fossil in the flesh or the fact that I even got to touch it, or even hear the paleontologist talk about it, but once I left that dig, I then knew what I wanted to do."

"So once summer was over and I got back to AGU I pretty much got started on my paleontology major with a vengeance. And it was actually while I was taking a class in Intro to Microcomputers that I met Hayley. And she and I hit it off very well and in more ways than one she pretty much became sort of the surrogate sister I never had." Tommy said.

"When did you find the gems?" Kat asked.

"It was actually during my third year at the second college I went to that I had found them." Tommy replied. "There was a dig somewhere in Montana (I checked and it turned out to be Montana after all) and me and a whole bunch of students went there along with our professor to check it out. And as luck would have it, it turned out to be this huge rock that later was theorized as the one that may have killed the dinosaurs. But anyway, while I was checking out part of the rock I saw what looked like something blue embedded in the rock itself. Curious I took a look and saw that it was actually a gem. It didn't look shiny or anything, but it was definitely something you didn't see everyday. Not really knowing what it was and wanting a memento to remember I took a look around and saw that there wasn't anyone around seeing what I was doing (since my professor was talking with them over at the other side of the rock), so I then took some of the few paleontology tools I had and tried to chip the part with the gem off. Surprisingly enough part of the rock fell off and almost pancaked my left foot, but then when I took a look at the part I saw that not only was the blue gem still embedded in there, but there was also a red and yellow gem embedded in the piece as well."

"I don't really know what it was I was thinking at that moment, but I knew that I had found something really big, and in spite of the fact that part of me felt I should let the professor know about it, another part of me felt it would be better off if no one at the dig knew what it was I found, so I took the rock (which fortunately was as big as a soccer ball, but it weighed like a ten pound barbell), put it in my bag, and re-joined the group before anyone knew I was missing."

"How were you able to discover what those gems could do?"

"Well, fortunately the college had an analyzer/scanning system I could use, so with Hayley's help I went and checked out what I had found. Needless to say, Hayley pretty much flipped out when I told her I had found it at the dig and didn't tell anyone about it, but I asked her to trust me and that I had a hunch about the three gems and if the scanner could prove what I was guessing at, then there would be all the more reason for me to keep the gems and keep them hidden."

"So after we scanned the three gems we didn't get anything at first, but then the energy output meter went completely off the charts once it did a full scan on each of the three gems and that's when I realized that my hunch was correct after all. However, when Hayley asked me for an explanation as to what I might know about the gems and threatened to rat me out to my professor if I didn't explain that's when I realized I had no choice so I pretty much sat her down and told her everything: About the Power Ranger legacy, how it got started, how I was once one of them, and so on and so forth. She didn't believe me at first, but then when I showed her my old zeonizers and had the analyzer scan them she basically stared at them like she was looking at the Holy Grail, and that's when she realized why no one else could know what the gems were or what they could do."

"Two years later I started grad school. And it was actually after I got my Masters' that I knew that the time was going to come when a new team of rangers would need to be formed, and the gems would be needed as well, so Hayley and I got to work trying to do what we could to get the ranger energies ready, but seeing as how we had very limited equipment to use, it wasn't exactly easy. Then I realized we could actually use the components of my zeonizers to help create what would be the Dino-Morphers, so we used those. Then I think it was about a year later that I found out that a Paleontologist named Anton Mercer was looking for an assistant to help him in his research on combining Dinosaur DNA with human technology. I quickly realized that if I could get into that program, Hayley and I would have all the resources we would need to get the Ranger energies ready, so I busted my chops and did everything I could to get in and ultimately I was able to."

"And that's how you were able to create the Tyrannodrones and the Dinozords?" Kat supplied.

"Yeah." Tommy replied. "For the next few years, even after I got my Ph. D, I continued to work with Anton Mercer on digs and such, and he pretty much took me under his wing and taught me a lot of what he knew. Y' know, even to this day…I can't say I would've learned more about Paleontology than I already had at that point if it hadn't been for him."

"And then some time later, he disappeared, and then…" Kat began.

"The rest is history." Tommy finished.

Kat sighed. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know." Tommy said. "Look, I'm sorry if I sounded like I was going on like a robot-"

"Believe me, you weren't." Kat replied. "Although I admit, I was kind of lost for a few moments, but for the most part; I understood what you said. And at least it all makes sense now as to what happened and how and why you created this team. Although there's still one thing I'm wondering though."

"What's that?"

"Well…I know that we did in our own way sort of break things off, but…why didn't you call?"

Tommy sighed as he looked from Kat back to his hands again as if trying to find the answer to a question that he had been asking himself for as long as he could remember, then after a few seconds he then raised his head and looked back at her beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't know." He replied softly. "I know that's pretty much the lamest excuse on the planet, but…I honestly don't know."

Kat wanted to say more but since she noticed that Tommy looked as if he was going to say something but didn't know how she held her tongue.

"Kat, I'm not going to lie to you, after you left, I was…" he then took a deep breath before he continued. "I was pretty much in a funk for a while. And it wasn't really so much about giving up the power, but because someone I really cared about was leaving."

Kat didn't say anything, but she continued to listen intently.

"I know it sounds pretty silly me waxing nostalgia about it now, but…those months that we went out…those were probably some of the best times that I ever had, more so than I ever thought I could have, not even when I was with Kim did I ever feel like that, and I wouldn't change it for anything." Tommy said as he looked at Kat eye-to-eye. "And it wasn't just because you were there for me when I needed a friend the most, but also because…you understood me. With you I never had to worry about putting on this façade of invincibility and be 'The White Knight'. With you I could just be…me, tarnished armor and all, and that would be okay."

"I just felt that, since you were in London, which was pretty much on the other side the world, and I was still here in the U.S., I knew that we both had our own separate lives to lead now, and…I just didn't want to unintentionally intrude on your life if I called. Well, there was that time on the day of 'The Countdown' that I got a hold of you and told you what was happening, but…" Tommy then took another breather for a moment before continuing.

"The truth is Kat, we were pretty much more than a couple of miles apart from each other, and I felt that if I called you, I just didn't know what would come out of it, if anything. I know that sounds pretty stupid, but…"

Kat then reached for his hand and placed her right hand on top of it.

"Tommy, there has never been a moment in my life where you've ever intruded." She said softly. "Why would you think that?"

Tommy sighed as he looked at Kat's angelic face. "I just felt you were pursuing your dream and as such I felt, what right did I have to step into your life again if you were happy over there, doing what you wanted to do, making a life for yourself, maybe…meeting someone over there…but the thing was, as much as I had missed you the first few years, and as much as I wanted to call you (regardless if you had met someone else or not), I knew that I had to go on with my life, so I just went ahead…and did just that."

Tommy almost couldn't finish his sentence, and as much as he tried to hold it in, he couldn't stop one tear from falling down his face. He wiped the tear off with his right hand and when he looked back at Kat her eyes looked very glassed over, like she was on the verge of shedding tears herself but trying to hold it in.

"Kat, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Kat said as she tried to smile, albeit it was a sad one. "It's just that…maybe it might have been also partly my fault."

"Kat, no. Don't think that." Tommy said as he gently wiped some of Kat's tears, which were already starting to run down her face. "It isn't your fault. I guess…I guess that's just how life is, I guess."

"Yeah…" Kat said, trying not to break down but still looking glassed over.

For a moment the two just sat there looking at each other, trying to find some way to say what they wanted to say but not really sure how to say it. Finally Tommy decided to throw caution to the wind and take the plunge.

"Kat, there's something I want to tell you. Well, it's something I probably should have told you a while ago."

"What?"

_Jeez Laweez, why do I get the feeling I'll be 50 and I'll still be nervous as hell when it comes to this?_ Tommy thought.

"Kat, before I knew you had moved here I had pretty much settled into my new niche here as a science teacher/Ranger called out of retirement (again)/mentor and while I was at least doing what I liked to do, which is teach and mentor, I always felt that there was something missing in my life. I knew what it was but I tried to put it in the back of my mind because I didn't want to drive myself crazy dwelling on something that I might have let pass me by once, maybe for good."

"But then fast forward a couple of months later, on a late November afternoon, just as I was on my way to Wal-Mart to get something for Hayley's Thanksgiving party, I unexpectedly bumped into someone who isn't just a special person, but she's someone who, even after all these years (and I'm not going to pretend to understand why, and I don't really care) still holds a special place in my heart."

Kat felt her eyes begin to glass over again, and when Tommy placed his other hand on top of hers she didn't know what kept from just shedding all her tears that were threatening to break out.

"And even though it's been only a month, the time that we've spent getting the chance to know each other again, and just hang out…it only proves just how special you are to me and…how much you still mean to me."

"Tommy, what are you saying?" Kat asked, her eyes on the verge of tearing over.

"Kat," Tommy said as he then raised his hand from Kat's hand and gently stroked the side of her face lovingly. "I love you."

At that moment Kat couldn't take it anymore, her tears just completely overflowed and she started to tremble as her face inched closer to Tommy's. Tommy's eyes were also beginning to water over as he inched his face closer to Kat's and then, with his hand still caressing her face, he kissed her.

Though it was a gentle kiss, and though it was held in place, it pretty much released all the feelings the two had deep inside them from the moment they saw each other again to now. Plus it was more than enough to make Kat's heart skip a dozen beats and take flight.

Once their lips broke off, they could see that the other's face was flushed and tears were running down both their faces like crazy.

"I've wanted to do that for the longest time." Kat said.

"Me too." Tommy said.

They spent the next few seconds just caressing the other's faces and just looking in each other's eyes, all the while keeping their faces close.

"Y' know, I know that Christmas Eve is tomorrow, but I still wanted to try and get you something." Tommy said. "But I realized that there's really only one thing that could surpass anything I could have bought." And with that he then stood up with Kat doing the same, and then he took Kat's right hand and placed it right on his heart.

"And that's this."

Kat, still shedding tears of happiness, just smiled at Tommy and gently took her left hand and gently caressed his face.

"Tommy…"

And so the two then inched their faces closer and kissed once more, their joy and happiness now complete.

--

AN: Wow, and I thought the Zelda delays were long (laughs). But seriously, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I had actually written this after I had watched the series finale of Everwood, so I was in a fluffy mood. And let me tell you, the show's ending was very cool (Yo, I'm a Ephram/Amy & Hannah/Bright & Andy/Nina fan, sue me.) But going back to the fic, don't think this is the final chapter, folks. That would be the next one. Hopefully it won't be as delayed as this one, so please don't go into convulsions or seizures while you're waiting, please.


	12. Although it's been said many times

AN: I don't know what's up, but I think the "Submit review" button is screwed up a bit, because there's a few fics on this site I can't review. Namely Moonpower's and Purple Strobe's, to name a few. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has that problem.

But anyway, that aside, I added a few more PR pairings onto my list (viva Nick/Madison!) And speaking of Mystic Force, why do I get the feeling that Koragg may be connected to the death of Udonna's husband in some way? Well, that is, if he's really dead…and how much does Phineas figure into some of the Ranger's pasts?

--

Chapter 12-Although it's been said many times, many ways…

"_Hang all the mistletoe, I'm gonna get to know you better, this Christmas…"_

The music coming from Hayley's sound system was pretty much the only thing that could be heard throughout the cyber café, mainly because the entire café was completely devoid of people.

Well, aside from Hayley, who was busy scrubbing the top of the counter as Gloria Estefan's version of "This Christmas" was playing off her stereo. It was the night of the Christmas party and she wanted to make sure that, like the Thanksgiving one, the place was ready and all set. Now originally she was going to do the party on the 21st, but after thinking about it for a second she realized it would be a whole lot better if it was done on the 24th. That way there'd be some more time to prepare (even though there wasn't much to do) and since it fell on Christmas Eve people could come by and have a good time and then once it was 10:30 PM Hayley would then close the shop so everybody could go home and enjoy the rest of Christmas Eve with their families and such.

Because of this, Hayley would only have snacks like Christmas cookies, Christmas brownies and whatnot available to eat and not a full-fledged buffet like she and Trent had done for Thanksgiving.

Once she was done cleaning the counter Hayley then snuck a peak at her watch, which said 2:45.

_Hmm. I wonder what's keeping Trent._ Hayley thought. _He said he'd come by 2:30 to help out with making some of the snacks._

No sooner did she think that did Hayley hear a knock coming from the door in the backroom. Knowing already who it was Hayley then walked to the back and answered the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Trent."

Hayley then unlocked the back door and in stepped Trent carrying a large gift-wrapped package in his left arm and a Wal-Mart bag with brownie and cookie dough mix and some other things Hayley couldn't get guess at in his other arm.

"Hi Hayley, sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, I just got finished cleaning up the counter a bit, so…"

Trent then walked over to a nearby chair and placed the package on the seat itself before he headed over to the table near the door and placed the Wal-Mart bag on it.

"So what did you bring?" Hayley asked.

"Oh, just some cookie dough, brownie mix, and some other things."

"Oh, that's great." Hayley said as she took out the mixes and the Holiday Assortment cookies out of the bag and placed them on the counter.

"So, is _that_ over there what I think it is…?" Hayley asked as she gestured to the gift sitting on the chair.

"Yeah, it is." Trent replied. "Y' know, it's funny, I wasn't really able to finish the whole thing until this morning."

"What happened?"

--

"Trent?"

Trent turned his gaze from his painting to the doorway where his foster father was. He had been working feverishly on his painting for the past few weeks and he was making a lot of progress, even though he was taking his time to make sure it was good. Fortunately though Trent was getting close to finishing and was just taking two minutes drinking some water before he got back to work.

"Oh, hi dad." Trent said semi-groggily.

"Trent, I know you're anxious to get your little project done, but it's practically 1:30 AM. Don't you think maybe you should get some rest before you continue any more?"

"Dad, I know, but Christmas Eve's tomorrow, I need to get this done."

"Duly noted, but if you don't get any sleep, you're not going to have enough strength to get up tomorrow, let alone anything else." Anton said as he stepped into Trent's room.

"So this is it, huh?" Anton asked as he gestured to the painting.

"Yep." Trent nodded with a slightly wistful smile.

"Well, forget about the Mona Lisa." Anton mused as he took a look at the painting. "Trent, this is really excellent work."

"Thanks dad." Trent said as he tried to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. "But I still have a lot to do on it though."

"Well, I think that's all the more reason why you should probably get some sleep _now_." Anton said. "Trent, believe me, it's one thing to lay down a lot of time towards something you want to do and to make sure it's done right, but it's quite another thing if you completely deprive yourself of sleep to get it done." He then gave Trent a meaningful look. "Get some sleep. If anything you'll probably be able to do it more quickly and more efficiently tomorrow morning."

Trent wanted to say more, but as he then looked from his dad to the painting of Kira, he knew he was right.

--

"So once I finished breakfast I headed back to my room and got back to work full tilt. And I think it was around 12:45 that I actually got it done. Fortunately gift-wrapping it was the easy part."

"Well, good for you." Hayley said.

"So what time are we going to open up the café?" Trent asked.

"Around 3:30 or so." Hayley replied. "We still have to wait for Tommy and the others to show up (since they're bringing a few things for snacks)."

"Is there anything else that isn't done yet?"

"Well, we still have some time, so I say for the moment we can get started on baking cookies and anything else that isn't already baked."

"All right, let's do it."

--

"Okay, I think this should do it." Conner said as he took a double package of Holiday Oreos off a rack and added them onto his shopping basket that had a bundle of cookies/chips/snacks that he was carrying in his left arm. He and the others had hooked up just a while ago and were on their way to Hayley's Cyberspace when Conner decided to take a detour and stop by Wal-Mart to get some snacks for the party.

"Conner, you're not seriously gonna buy all that, are you?" Ethan asked as he looked inside the basket.

"What?" Conner asked. "C' mon, it's a party, we need all the bare essentials we can get."

"Don't you mean what _you_ can get?" Kira supplied.

"Guys, come on, what makes you think I'm gonna eat all this?" Conner asked as he gestured to the basket he was carrying. "This is too much even for me."

"Really? We couldn't tell." Ethan remarked sarcastically.

"Conner, from what we saw a few nights ago, between you and Dr. O's old friend Rocky, you could practically raid a whole refrigerator if you were hungry enough." Kira supplied.

"Ah-hah, very funny." Conner said. "And I take it you guys aren't getting anything?"

"No, I'm good." Kira replied.

"Well, for me, I've got French onion dip, and Lay's Sour cream & Onion chips, so I'm all set." Ethan said.

"All right, let's check this stuff out and then make like bananas and split." Conner said as they headed for the register.

"Y' know, speaking of Dr. O, I'm really wondering what he's been up to these past few days." Ethan said.

"Who knows?" Conner asked. "But with someone like Katherine around…I don't know about you guys, but I'm willing to bet he couldn't have been bored at all."

"That's true." Ethan agreed.

_Oh, brother._ Kira thought.

--

Tommy rubbed his hands on the sides of his sweater as he walked up the stairs to Kat's apartment. Though he and Kat had, for lack of a better word, admitted their feelings for each other last night and pretty much made out like crazy after that, he still couldn't stop his hands from getting sweaty.

_Even though yeah, the only frisky thing we did was make out._ Tommy thought. _It's amazing we didn't rip each other's clothes off while we were at it._

Once he got to Kat's front door he then rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" Kat asked from the inside.

"It's me, Tommy."

Tommy then heard the sound of locks unlocking as the door opened, revealing Kat standing in the doorway.

"Tommy, hi." Kat said as she opened the door some more, allowing him to come inside the apartment.

"Hi Kat." Tommy said as they kissed.

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely." Kat replied. "I just got through talking to Tanya a few minutes ago. She and Adam are coming, along with Rocky, of course."

"That's great." Tommy said. "I talked to Jason earlier just before I got here, and he and Emily are on their way too."

"All right then, let me get my purse, and then we'll go."

Kat then went to her room and grabbed her purse from her dresser along with a leather jacket before rejoining Tommy in the living room. She had already taken a shower and changed clothes earlier in the day, so she had spent the rest of the early day talking to Tanya and patiently waiting for Tommy to show up.

"Well, I'm all set, so…shall we?" Kat asked.

"Definitely." Tommy replied with a smile as he and Kat headed for the door and stepped out. After Kat locked the door, she and Tommy then headed down the steps to the ground floor where the parking lot was. As they walked, Tommy then reached out his right hand and reached for Kat's left one, encircling his fingers around hers.

As soon as Kat felt Tommy's hand touch hers she then looked at her hand and then to Tommy, who had a gentle smile on his face as he looked at her.

Blushing slightly, Kat looked down and smiled before she looked back at him, her fingers closing around his as they walked together to his jeep.

--

"Trent, careful." Hayley said as Trent then picked up the pan with the brownies and took them over to the oven which she had already opened.

"Don't worry, I got it." Trent replied as he placed the pan on the bottom rack as gently as he could. Once it was placed well, Trent then pushed the rack back inside the oven, closed the door and set the timer.

"Well, that'll be a while."

"3:15, It's almost time." Hayley remarked as she took a look at her watch. "Hope Conner and the others get here soon."

KNOCK-KNOCK!

"Guys, is that you?" Trent asked as he stepped in front of the back door.

"No, it's the abominable snowman." Ethan said. "Somehow we ran into him while we were on our way here, and he ended up eating us. Surprisingly enough, we haven't been digested yet, but we're still in his stomach."

"All right, hang on, guys." Trent chuckled as he unlocked the door. "So what's up?" He asked once the trio came inside.

"Oh, nothing much. Just bearing gifts." Conner said as he held up the shopping bag he was carrying with his left hand.

"You guys can put those over there." Hayley said as she pointed to a counter table next to the stove.

"Well, it looks like we arrived just in time, judging from what I saw outside up front." Ethan said as he and the others placed the bags on the counter.

"What's going on?" Hayley asked.

"Well, let's just say that once we parked we saw a lot of people already camped outside the cyber café waiting to get in."

"Well, we're all here, so…let's this party jumping." Hayley said as she and the others headed out of the back room to the main part of the café to open the doors.

"Okay, everyone." Hayley said to the people there. "The party has now officially begun."

She didn't even need to say it twice, for once she and the four teens opened the doors (there were other ones besides two) everyone filed in and got comfortable.

"Jeez Laweez, is this a Christmas party or a quasi-version of a Led Zeppelin concert without Led Zeppelin?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know, maybe a little bit of both." Kira said.

"Hayley?" Conner asked as he came up to the counter.

"Yeah Conner?"

"Well, I don't know if you know this or not, but…you wouldn't happen to know if Krista's coming, do you?"

"Any reason?" Hayley asked semi-slyly.

"Uh…well…no, not…no reason, really. Just…wondering." Conner said.

Hayley smiled sadly and shook her head. "Sorry Conner, but…even I don't know if she'll be here or not."

_Damn._ "All right. I was just wondering, that's all." And with that he then turned back to where the others were.

"You all right?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, just a little bummed about something, but I'll live." Conner replied nonchalantly.

"Trent, I'm going to go take some orders, do you think you can get the chips and cookies ready while I do that?"

"Yeah, no problem." Trent replied.

"I'll give him a hand." Conner offered.

"Me too." Ethan said as he looked sideways at Conner.

"I'll go too." Kira said, already knowing that (just like Ethan knew,) if someone else wasn't there to help out, Conner might start to eat all the chips and cookies and Trent alone might not be able to stop him.

"Guys, you don't _all_ have to give me a hand with this." Trent said once they entered the backroom.

"Dude, two people (or excuse me, four) can get this done a whole lot faster than one." Conner reasoned.

"True." Trent said. "All right, but you don't get first dibs on taking the chips out, Conner."

"What? It's not like I'm not going to eat the first batch I take out." Conner protested.

"Not even to 'taste-test' them?" Ethan asked sarcastically. "And that's probably not even counting the second, third, or even fourth batches."

"Uh…"

Conner didn't say anything after that for a few seconds; he just glared at his friends a bit.

"Conner, don't worry about it." Trent said. "You can help with taking out the chips, but try not to eat a whole handful of them."

--

"Okay, excuse us folks, the snack express has arrived."

People then turned around at the sound of Conner's voice as he, Ethan, Trent, and Kira stepped out of the backroom carrying some trays with snacks. Conner and Ethan were carrying serving dip trays with chips and salsa dip/French onion dip, Trent was carrying a tray w/chips in one hand and a tray full of cookies in the other, and Kira was carrying a tray with an assortment of Oreo and holiday-themed cookies.

The foursome placed them at a table near the front of the counter so people could easily get to them, but there was still enough space that if people wanted to sit by the stools, they would be able to.

Once they placed the plates down, some people began to make their way to the table to get something to eat.

"Thanks a lot, guys." Hayley said as she went behind the counter and stacked one of her trays on a pile by the sink.

"You're welcome." Trent answered.

"Hey, anytime." Conner said.

"Don't mention it, Hayley." Ethan.

"Glad to help." Kira.

"Oh yeah, Dr. O's coming, right?" Ethan asked as he, Kira, and Conner took seats on the stools by the counter while Trent went behind the counter.

"Yeah, according to Hayley, he and Kat should be on their way here." Trent replied.

"Well, hopefully those two won't take _too_ long." Conner mused. "Well, that is unless of course they're already preoccupied with something _else_."

Kira was on the verge of saying something, but she held her tongue and just shook her head in disgust.

"What?" Conner asked as he looked at Kira and Trent, who were just shaking their heads and trying not to pay attention to what he was saying. Even Ethan was shaking his head, although he had a semi-grin on his face to indicate that he kind of agreed with his thinking.

"Hi, guys!" called a voice.

The four teens turned in the direction of where the voice was coming from and saw their teacher and Katherine heading in their direction.

"Hi Kat." Kira said.

"What's up, doc?" Ethan asked.

"Oh, nothing much." Tommy replied as he looked at Kat with a smile as they sat down at a table next to the four teens.

_Okay, now I _know_ something went down these past few days._ Conner thought.

"Well, all the same, it's good to have you guys join the party." Ethan said.

"Is everyone else coming?" Kira asked.

"Oh yeah, don't worry," Kat said. "They're coming too."

"There's cookies and snacks over there if you guys want some." Trent offered as he pointed to the table with the snacks, which some people had already started to get.

"Thanks Trent, but I think I'm good for the moment." Kat replied.

"And I just had lunch not too long ago." Tommy said.

"All right, well, they're there if you want them."

"So, Galaga anyone?" Ethan asked.

--

The next hour went by pretty briskly with the group making discussion about a few things like class, work, etc. After a while Ethan got a little bored and headed off to the arcade machines to play Space Invaders. Conner, feeling a little bored himself decided to go and play along with him while Trent stuck to his waiting and serving duties, as well as going to the backroom to check on the brownies and take them out. Kira pretty much stuck to talking with Kat about some of the songs she was working on and whatnot. Tommy listened for a while, but then he decided to join his two students at the arcades so the two women didn't have to worry about him listening in.

After a while, Kat and Kira were both feeling thirsty and asked for some Sierra Mist, which Trent quickly got to work on getting for them.

"Okay ladies," Trent said as he approached the two women with two Sierra Mists in both hands. "Here you go."

"Cheers." Kat said.

"Thanks Trent." Kira said.

"You're welcome." Trent replied with a warm smile.

"Trent, table 16 needs two smoothies, a Mountain Dew, and a 'Soda Suicide'." Hayley said as she came up to him.

"All right, I'm all over it." Trent said as he reached for four cups and got to work on filling them up with what orders were.

"What's a soda suicide?" Kira asked.

"It's basically where you take Sierra Mist (or Sprite), Coca-cola, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew, and you mix them together." Trent replied.

"All of them?" Kira asked.

"All of them." Trent answered as he finished with two cups and began to fill up the other two.

_Jeez,_ Kira thought. Though she wasn't staring at him directly, she did steal a few glances at him as he was getting the drinks ready. Once Trent was done, he then took the drinks, put them on a tray, and headed for table 16.

"He really is a nice guy." Kat mused rhetorically as she noticed Kira looking at Trent indirectly.

"Yeah, he's really sweet." Kira replied as she bowed her head somewhat to hide the light blush that was spreading up her neck.

"You really like him, don't you?" Kat asked with a knowing smile.

"Is it really _that_ obvious?"

Kat smiled with a knowing air. "Take it from me Kira, it's usually the subtle things that tend to say the most." Kat said knowingly as she remembered her moments with Tommy these past few weeks, particularly last night. "Don't worry, I won't say anything."

Kira smiled and looked down for a moment before she looked at Kat again. In more ways than one, what Katherine said really meant a lot to her, and it wasn't just because of the fact that she was the only other woman (besides Hayley) Kira could really talk to, but also because Kat was someone who had pretty much been there herself and as such, she had experiences that were almost similar to her own, both as a Power Ranger and as a person. "Thanks Kat."

"You're welcome." Kat replied sincerely.

After handling a few more orders Trent returned back to the counter. Conner, Tommy and Ethan had also finished with playing on the games and came back as well. They were just about ready to sit down when a voice sounded from nearby.

"Yo Tommy!"

Tommy, Kat and the others turned around and saw Jason, Emily, Tanya, Adam, and Rocky standing by the snack table trying to get their attention. Rocky for his part was eyeing the food hungrily and was trying very hard not grab as many cookies and brownies as he could.

"Hi guys!" Tommy called. "Come on over here. There's plenty of tables."

"So what have you guys been up to?" Kat asked once everyone had sat down and greeted Tommy's students.

"Oh, nothing much." Emily replied. "Just enjoying the holidays."

"You can definitely say that again." Rocky said as he stuck a Milano cookie in his mouth which made the group chuckle.

"Hi, guys." Hayley said as she approached the table.

"Hi Hayley." Said Jason.

"Hi." Rocky said with a charming smile.

"Is there anything I can get you guys?"

"I'll take some milk if you have some." Rocky said.

"I'll just have a Sierra Mist." Jason said. "Emily…?"

"Same here." Emily replied.

"Okay, Adam, Tanya, how about you guys?"

"I'm good." Adam replied.

"I'll have a Dr. Pepper." Tanya said.

"Okay, I'll be right back with your orders." Hayley said as she headed for the counter to get the drinks. Trent got up from his table and went over to give her a hand.

While the drinks were being prepared, Adam then turned back towards the others and noticed Rocky stacking four cookies on top of each other.

"Rocko, by any chance you didn't happen to smuggle all the cookies from that snack tray over there, did you?" Adam asked.

"No, I only took a few." Rocky protested. "Seriously! I only took a few." He said when he saw the questioning looks on his friends' faces.

"Prove it." Tanya said.

Rocky sighed and showed the group his hands, both of which were holding up a stack of 10 assorted cookies on both ends.

"A few, huh?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah." Rocky replied casually.

"Rocky, remind me to ask to you one of these days as to what your definition of 'a few' means when it comes to food." Jason said.

"Come on, there's still plenty over there." Rocky reasoned. "Besides, not everybody's going up to get them, and I'm not about to let these tasty morsels go to waste."

"I hear you." Conner agreed.

"So did this thing just get started now or…?" Tanya asked wanting to change topics.

"We started the whole party about an hour ago." Kira replied. "Don't worry, you didn't miss much."

"Well, aside from Ethan kicking my ass left, right, and center on Space Invaders and losing Mortal Kombat to Dr. O (which just proves as to how good _my_ gaming skills are)." Conner said.

"Well, not everybody's good at everything, Conner." Tommy said.

"I know." Conner said. "But hey, that's why God invented soccer."

--

For the next while the group pretty much made conversation about things much like Kat and Tommy had done with his students before, with occasional getting up to get snacks or to go to the restroom. Then at around 7:30 Hayley then stepped over to where the makeshift "stage" was to make an announcement.

"Excuse me everyone, can I have your attention for a moment please?"

Everybody began to quiet down.

"Thanks." Hayley said. "Now before anything I just want to ask, how is everybody tonight? Is everyone having a good time?"

"Yeah!" Said the crowd.

"Good. That's really good to hear." Hayley said. "Now if by chance some of you are already starting to get a little bit bored, fear not, because we have someone here tonight who might be able to put the Christmas color back in your cheeks. Now a lot of you have already seen her perform here before, and some of you may be seeing her for the first time tonight, but whether you've seen her perform here before or not, she is definitely someone whose voice will get your attention, especially now during the holiday season. Ladies and Gentlemen…Kira Ford."

The crowd clapped as Kira stepped up onto the stage with her guitar in hand. She looked at everyone that was there and smiled back at all of them. Then she saw Conner, Ethan, Dr. Oliver, Kat, the rest of Dr. O and Kat's old friends, and…Trent.

"Thank you." Kira said to the audience. "Now before I start, I would just like to dedicate this first Christmas song to a very special someone here in the audience tonight." She then looked at Trent and smiled brightly at him. Conner and Ethan looked at Trent and grinned at him slyly while Trent just tried to shrug their grins off on him and just looked at Kira with a warm, genuine smile on his face.

"To that special person, this one is for you, and to everyone else here who also have a special someone in their lives."

So with renewed determination in her heart, Kira then sat down at a chair that Hayley had placed on the stage, whipped out her guitar and begun, her gaze every so often going to Trent as she sang.

_Greeting cards have all been sent_

_The Christmas rush is through_

_But I still have one wish to make_

_A special one for you_

_Merry Christmas darling_

_We're apart, that's true_

_But I can dream, and in my dreams_

_I'm Christmasing with you_

_Holidays are joyful_

_There's always something new_

_But everyday's a holiday_

_When I'm near to you_

_The lights on my tree_

_I wish you could see_

_I wish it everyday_

_Logs on the fire_

_Fill me with desire_

_To see you and to say_

_That I wish you a Merry Christmas_

_Happy New Year too_

_I just have one wish on this Christmas Day_

_I wish I were with you_

(Guitar solo)

_Logs on the fire_

_Fill me with desire_

_To see you and to say_

_That I wish you a Merry Christmas_

_Happy New Year too_

_I just have one wish on this Christmas Eve_

_I wish I were with you_

_I just have one wish on this Christmas Eve_

_I wish I were with you_

_Merry Christmas, darling_

_Merry Christmas darling_

Just as the song ended, everyone in the entire café just started to applaud and whistle like crazy. Kira just smiled humbly and waved at the audience as she beamed at her friends, who were clapping the loudest, Trent especially.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Kira said into the microphone as she continued to smile at the audience and used the few minutes to catch her breath for a bit before she continued.

_When mistletoe and tinsel glow_

_Paint a yuletide valentine_

_Back home to those I know_

_For a Christmas auld lang syne_

_And as we gather 'round the tree_

_Our voices all combine_

_In sweet accord to thank the lord_

_For a Christmas auld lang syne_

_When sleigh bells ring and choirs sing_

_And the children's faces shine_

_With each new toy we share their joy_

_With a Christmas auld lang syne_

_We sing His praise this day of days_

_And pray next year this time_

_We'll all be near to share the cheer_

_Of a Christmas auld lang syne_

_In sweet accord to thank our lord…_

_For a Christmas auld lang syne_

Once more, as Kira finished the song everyone clapped and cheered.

"Thank you." Kira said as she smiled at everyone.

"Now I'm going to take a short break now, but don't think that's the end, I still have two final songs left, so stick around, I'll be back."

With her guitar in hand once again, Kira then made her way back to where Trent, Ethan, Dr. O, Kat, Conner, and everyone else were. Once she got there the entire group clapped again.

"Awesome, awesome, and-should I say it again?-Awesome!" Rocky said.

"So I take you guys enjoyed it too?" Kira asked the rest of her teacher's old friends.

"Are you kidding me?" Jason asked. "On a scale of 1 to 10, that show was an 18!"

"Jason's right, it really was." Emily agreed.

"_Very_ good choice of songs, Kira." Tanya said, extremely impressed.

"Thanks." Kira said.

"Well, personally I think you definitely put the word 'rock' in rock & roll." Trent said sincerely.

"Thanks Trent." Kira said with a small blush on her face which made Rocky make an "Awww" sound as he reached for another chip only to grab nothing but the plate itself. Seeing that there wasn't anymore he decided to get up and get some more from the snack table. Conner went with him to get some more chips himself.

"So when are you going to do the last songs?" Adam asked.

"Well, I figured I'd take a break for a little bit, and then once it's 8:15 I'll head back up there and sing the last two songs."

"That's good." Ethan said.

"What the hell-?"

"Hayley, what is it?" Kat asked.

"Oh, nothing much, except maybe for our two human vacuum cleaners over there." Hayley said sarcastically as she pointed over to the desolate snack table where Rocky and Conner were busy taking as many chips, cookies, and brownies as they could possibly take and putting them on some paper plates they had gotten from a stack of unused ones on the same table.

"Why am I not surprised?" Trent mused.

Hayley then reached into one of the bottom drawers and pulled out a call horn. Once she had it in her hand she then turned it on and activated the alarm on the horn which made almost everyone in the café (including Rocky and Conner) jump out of their skin.

"Conner and Rocky, put the extra chips/cookies/brownies you have in your hands down and step away from the snack table." Hayley said as she spoke into the horn.

_Oh, shit._ Conner thought to himself. And as he looked at Rocky Conner could tell from the look on his face he too was thinking the same thing. Dropping the extra chips/cookies they had in their hands the two guys grudgingly took the paper plates they had gotten (which already had a couple of snacks on them) and made their way back to the table where the group had bemused looks on their faces.

"You guys really don't waste any time when it comes to food, do you?" Ethan asked.

"Well, can you blame us if our appetites are bigger than yours? It's not really our fault, y' know." Rocky asked in defense.

"Well, considering you two…no." Tommy said which made everyone at the table laugh.

--

"Okay everyone, now even though I'm going to perform the last two songs of the night, this party still has one more thing left after this." Kira said as she addressed the crowd. "There will be a gift distribution later after my performance so for those of you who brought gifts for your loved ones and they are here with you as well, you'll have the chance to give them out."

"And speaking of gifts…y' know, one could almost think that _that's_ what Christmas really is about, that it's _only_ about what you see in the mall and the actual gift itself you give to that special person. And while that is pretty cool…it still doesn't signify what the holidays really are about. It's family, and friends that are what make Christmas what it is, especially when you have them there to share the holidays with you and also to talk about what you wish for this Christmas. And even though yeah, while most of us have pretty much outgrown Christmas lists, that doesn't mean that we still can't wish for something special, especially if it's from our hearts."

So with that Kira then adjusted the microphone and placed it back on its stand before heading back up to the small stage. This time though, instead of using her guitar as she normally would, she then approached a small electronic keyboard that was a little bit towards the back of the stage and moved it forward as well as adjusting the height so she could use it while sitting down. Once it was adjusted, Kira then sat down in front of it much like a grandmaster would, and started to play the melody.

_Do you remember me?_

_I sat upon your knee_

_I wrote to you with childhood fantasies_

_Well, I'm all grown up now_

_I still need help somehow_

_I'm not a child, but my heart still can dream_

_So here's my lifelong wish_

_My grown-up Christmas list_

_Not for myself, but for a world_

_In need_

_No more lives torn apart_

_And wars would never start_

_And time would heal all hearts_

_And everyone would have a friend_

_And right would always win_

_And love would never end_

_This is my grown-up Christmas list_

_As children we believe_

_The grandest sight to see_

_Was something lovely wrapped beneath our tree_

_Well, heaven surely knows_

_The packages and bows_

_Can never heal a hurting human soul_

_No more lives torn apart_

_And wars would never start_

_And time would heal all hearts_

_And everyone would have a friend_

_And right would always win_

_And love would never end_

_This is my grown-up Christmas list_

_What is this illusion called_

_The innocence of youth?_

_Maybe only in our blind belief_

_Can we ever find the truth_

_No more lives torn apart_

_And wars would never start_

_And time would heal all hearts_

_And everyone would have a friend_

_And right would always win_

_And love would never end_

_This is my grown-up Christmas list_

_This is my only lifelong wish_

_This is my grown-up Christmas list_

Just like before, everyone clapped and cheered. Kira smiled as she said thanks and adjusted the seat on the stage before reaching for her trusty guitar and playing the melody to her final song.

_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire_

_Jack Frost nipping at your nose_

_Yuletide carols being sung by a choir_

_And folks dressed up like Eskimos_

_Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe_

_Help to make the season bright_

_Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow_

_Will find it hard to sleep tonight_

_They know that Santa's on his way_

_He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh_

_And every mother's child is gonna spy_

_To see if reindeer really know how to fly_

_And so I'm offering this simple phrase_

_To kids from one to ninety-two_

_Although it's been said many times, many ways:_

"_Merry Christmas to you"_

(Guitar solo)

_And so I'm offering this simple phrase_

_To kids from one to ninety-two_

_Although it's been said many times, many ways:_

"_Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas_

_To you"_

Once she was finished, she then took a bow as everyone in the café, along with Kat, Tommy, Jason, and the others applauded her.

--

Shortly after Kira's performance, things began to wind down a bit at the cyber café as some people already began to head for their homes to spend the rest of Christmas Eve with their families. Others however, were still there, giving their loved ones gifts that they had brought and enjoying what was left of the party.

As for Katherine, Tommy, and the others, they were pretty much hanging out still at the tables by the counter.

"Well, this has been one heck of a Christmas party." Jason said.

"You can say that again." Rocky said as he patted his stomach.

"Ohhh, yeah." Conner agreed.

"Yeah, because you two basically got to pig yourselves out." Tanya said which made everybody break into laughter.

"So did you guys bring any gifts for each other or…?" Hayley asked.

"We left them at home." Emily said. "Although now I kind of wish we did bring them though."

"True, but that would have taken all the fun out of Christmas Day." Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Still though…"

"How about you guys?" Hayley asked Adam, Tanya, and Rocky.

"Mine and Tanya's are at our place." Adam said.

"My gifts are back at my apartment, but they're for my folks, so…" Rocky said.

"Oh, okay." Hayley said.

"Mmm. This was pretty good." Ethan said as he finished up the last of his hot chocolate. "Trent, could you-Trent?"

"Where'd he go?" Kira asked.

"I don't know, he was here just a second ago." Kat replied.

"He went into the backroom." Hayley replied.

"What for?"

"Well…let's just say there was something really important in there he had to do." Hayley said slyly.

--

_All right, this is it._ Trent thought as he picked up the gift-wrapped painting from the spot he had left it at. Though none of his friends really took much notice of it (especially Kira) while they were taking out the chips and cookies for the snack entrees, Conner and Ethan did look as if though they had seen it and as such they knew, or at least suspected what the package was, for Conner gently elbowed him and said, "Go for it, dude." At first Trent didn't know what he was talking about, but then when he looked back to where he had left the package he figured it out.

With the package in both of his hands Trent then made for the door to the main part of the café when he hesitated at the last minute.

_Trent, come on. It's just Kira. What have you got to be worried about?_

As eager as he was to head out there and give Kira his painting, part of him couldn't help but freeze up if for no other reason than just pure self-doubt.

_Trent, you can either just stand there until your feet are rooted to the ground, or you can just bite the bullet, take the chance and just go out there. You've got nothing to lose._

Swallowing his pride Trent exhaled heavily and clutched his painting in his left hand as he headed for the door.

"Hi guys." Said Trent as he stepped out of the café's backroom.

"Hey Trent." Ethan said.

"So what _did_ you have to do in there?" Kira asked.

"Well, actually it was more of what I had to _get_ in there." Trent said as he slightly gestured to the package he was carrying.

"What's in the bag?" Kira asked.

"It's actually what I went back there to get." Trent replied with a semi-nervous undertone. "It's something I've been working on for a while now, and I was hoping to get it done before today so I could give it to you, and luckily though I was…able to do that, so…"

Getting nervous with every second and not really sure what else to say Trent quickly took the bag off the package and bundled it up in his hands before tossing it out into a nearby trash can. Then he took the package he was holding in his right hand and gently handed it to Kira.

"Merry Christmas, Kira." Trent said sincerely. "You don't have to open it now, I mean, you can wait until you get home or whatever, I don't really care…"

Kira then looked from Trent's deep brown eyes to the package she was holding in her hands. Curious, she then slowly began to unwrap the package.

Tommy, Kat, and the others were watching all this go on, and while they all knew they shouldn't be prying and that they should give the two some privacy, their curiosity was getting the best of all of them as they wondered what it was Trent had gotten for her.

Once Kira finished unwrapping the package and looked at the painting in it's entirety, her jaw opened slightly and her eyes widened and remained locked at the painting completely.

At first Trent was afraid that she didn't like it, but then when he saw her mouth curl upwards into a smile, that fear was sedated.

As Kira's smile broke across the corners of her mouth, the only word that could come out of her mouth was "Wow," as she continued to stare at the painting, her eyes getting somewhat watery.

"So what is it?" Rocky asked.

Kira then snapped out of her trance and looked at her teacher and Kat before turning the painting around to show everyone else what it was. Once Emily, Jason, Tommy, Kat and everyone else in the group saw it, their eyes widened completely in amazement as they saw the picture. It was a beautiful oil painting of Kira staring out onto the beach as she gently strummed on her guitar with the sunset in the background.

"Wow," Adam said.

"Holy spamoli," Rocky muttered.

"And you did this?" Tanya asked Trent.

"Yeah…I did." Trent replied.

"Nice painting, Trent." Emily said with a smile.

"You can definitely say that again." Kat said in agreement.

"So…you like it?" Trent asked Kira as he nervously ran a hand through his hair.

Kira then looked at the painting again for a while, then she placed it on the table before she looked at Trent with a warm smile on her face and her hazel eyes glassed over with joy.

"I love it." She said as she then reached over and hugged Trent as tightly as she could. "Thanks Trent."

"You're welcome." Trent replied with a deep blush as he returned the embrace with equal affection.

Seeing this, Rocky started to whistle absent-mindedly as he looked off in another direction. Conner and Ethan just sat there in their chairs with semi-goofy grins on their faces as they gave Trent a thumbs-up. Adam, Tanya, Kat, Tommy, Jason, and Emily just watched the exchange with warm smiles. Tommy, having already sensed the attraction between his two students for some time, was happy for Trent and glad that he finally took a chance to do something special for someone he cared about.

"Well, I guess that leaves only one question to ask then." Conner said as he gently ushered his friend closer and whispered in his ear.

"So, just out of curiosity when's the wedding?"

"Conner, shut up." Trent said as he blushed again.

"Dude, relax. I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Conner said which made himself, Trent, Kira, Ethan, and everyone else into spasms of laughter once again.

--

Not too long after that everyone started to leave the café. However, it was a lot earlier than what Hayley had predicted, so she (with help from Trent, Tommy, Kat, and their friends) was able to clean everything up much faster and close up the cyber café early.

Since there was still some leftover trash to take out around closing time, Tommy told Hayley to go ahead and close up and he would go take the trash to the dumpster in the back. However, seeing as how there was just a little more to carry for just himself alone, Kat gave him a hand with taking the trash out. Once they were done, they headed around the café to meet up with the rest of their friends and Tommy's students.

"Thanks for helping me out back there, Kat." Tommy said.

"You're welcome, Tommy." Kat replied. "Y' know, the Thanksgiving party we had a month ago was great, but this one was even more incredible."

Tommy smiled. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"I did. Although…I am sorry I didn't have a chance to get you anything."

"Kat, it's okay." Tommy said. "Look, being here with you is an incredible enough gift for me. Besides, to be honest…I really wouldn't want anything else."

Kat blushed at the comment before looking deep into Tommy's brown eyes, slowly losing herself bit by bit.

Smiling gently Tommy then gently took Kat's hands in his own and then as he slowly inched his face to hers, his lips met her own with a passionate caress, yet with a surprising gentleness which touched Kat greatly, even as she completely lost herself in his kisses and his embrace.

Their intimate moment was then interrupted by sounds of cheering, whistling, and whooping, and they weren't far away either.

Tommy and Katherine turned around and saw none other than Conner, Ethan, Kira, Trent, and the rest of their friends standing nearby. Conner, Ethan, and Rocky were whistling and whooping like crazy while Jason, Adam, Kira, Trent, Emily, and Tanya were merely smiling and clapping at the two.

"About time, Dr. O. About time!" Conner said.

At first Tommy wanted to give his student a death glare, but then when he looked at Kat he gave up and just sighed to himself as he smiled and laughed along with her and everyone else. After all, what was the point in trying to argue with his students or even his old friends if he knew he and Katherine had just gotten through proving what everyone else had suspected for some time now; plus…having someone with whom to give his heart to and have new experiences to add onto the ones he and her already had shared together in the past…which was something he had secretly yearned for over the years, yet never believed would ever happen to him again…as far as Tommy was concerned, it was more than he ever could have hoped for.

And so Tommy swept Kat up in his most loving embrace and the two kissed passionately under the cool, Christmas Eve night.

"Merry Christmas Kat." Tommy said softly to Kat.

"Merry Christmas Tommy."

--

AN: Well, that was a rush indeed. Now I really hope you guys enjoyed this fic. Yeah, I know this one was pretty much action-free, but I wanted to try and give our main characters some down time Ranger-wise (who doesn't) but don't worry, the ass-kickin' will return in the next one. You didn't really think it was over, did you? Yeah, there will be an ending to the storyline as a whole, but I'm not there yet. As the Kingdom Hearts II TV spot said it best, "The story is not over." So stay tuned, after I take a nice break, I will return…with fic three!


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